Choices
by MSupernatural
Summary: There's power in all the choices we make. Allowing James to go out for one day, Lily changed the whole story. How would have been Harry's childhood with his parents around? For sure, not as safe as everyone imagined. Set pre-Hogwarts.
1. The beginning

**Choices**

**Summary:** There's power in all the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

**Rating:** 'T', not because I think there'll be anything that kids can't read, but I want to have some freedom that 'K' does not give you.

**A.N.:** Hey guys and ladies, I've been reading quite a few stories in which James and Lily survived, and I actually found some very good stuff. I love this kind of fic 'cuz it lightens up the world of HP, by taking out this "lose your parents" thing.

I know there are lots of stories with similar plot, but I promise I have some original ideas. Ah, and, as you can see in my profile, I'm from Brazil, so English is not my mother language. I haven't found a Beta yet, so I'm sorry for any mistakes/errors in the first chapters. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Godric's Hollow – October 31st, 1981**

One would say that the world would tell you when a tragedy was going to happen in your life. Actually, the common opinion is that tragedy days just shouldn't be allowed to be normal at all. The universe should show people that something was, or something would be, wrong, that something foul was coming...

But this Halloween started as any other. A full summer day. The sun was shining, the day was warm and the birds were happy. Everybody was happy. Well, everybody but James Potter, at that very specific moment.

Standing in front of the window of his bedroom with his arms crossed, he was just looking outside. Staring at the kids playing at the park across from his house and the birds singing, he just couldn't overlook the fact that he was stuck in there. He couldn't go out, because, according to Dumbledore, that would represent a danger for himself.

With a deep sigh, he turned and looked around his own bedroom. It was simple, as the whole house actually. They had been living there for a very short time, so Lily hadn't had time to redecorate everything, but she already had some plans, principally regarding their bedroom.

For her, it was unacceptable to have only a bed, a table, a chair and a nightstand with a lamp in a bedroom. By then, that was it, nothing more to fill that too small blue-wall, brown-carpeted room.

James was alone in the bedroom, but he could hear Lily preparing breakfast downstairs, so he got changed to his Muggle clothes – A blue T-shirt, jeans and no shoes - and decided to get Harry, who was fast asleep in the room next door. James dragged himself there and, with a large smile, watched his son sleeping in his blue crib, holding his plush stag.

Harry Potter was his happiness. He and his mother, as a matter of fact, but it was so difficult to separate the two that James thought about them as one whole thing: his treasure. Harry was a cute baby, but that didn't mean he was calm. On the contrary, he probably inherited the agitation that was purely James'. 1 year and 3 months and he had to be hold most of the time, otherwise he would start exploring the house and go God knows where.

"James, are you coming?" a voice shouted from downstairs. James was so absorbed that he didn't even notice that he had been staring at his baby for the last 30 minutes. Mind you, he didn't even notice that Harry had woken up and was staring back, with those emerald eyes that were Lily's gift to him. James couldn't hold his grin.

"Hey, kiddo..." he whispered. "Shall we go downstairs and see your mum?"

Harry was still a baby, and thus could not speak. But he surely could understand some words, and 'mum' was one of these. He stood up, holding the crib's bars, and said "mum!", in one of those baby voices that make you want to hug them for at least the rest of your life.

James giggled and got his son, checking his diaper. As it was empty, he went downstairs, to the kitchen-dining room in which Lily was setting the table. It was a small room, with a four place table, a refrigerator and a stove. There were cupboards not only on the foor, but also on the walls, above the other furniture. A large window over the sink showed them the back of the house, where Lily planted some vegetables and some plants she used to prepare potions.

"'Morning love" James said, with a small smile. He really wasn't a morning person, but Lily was, and starting the day with a foul humor would just sadden her. She was wearing a white flowered dress, and her red hair was tied in a ponytail. She gave him a big smile.

"Good morning, my precious boys." she got Harry and gave James a peck on the lips. "Jamsie, love, I made you some pancakes. Why don't you eat while I feed Harry?"

"Alright, babe. Have you had breakfast?" James asked, sitting down and pulling a plate with 6 or 7 pancakes. Lily giggled.

"Ya, you know how I can't control myself..." James smiled with his mouth full. Lily was thin, as everybody in her family, but she ate about the same quantity as him. And she just couldn't cook without eating, so mostly half of what she prepared was eaten during the process of preparation.

At that specific moment, the fireplace, in the adjoining room, burnt green flames and an old man wearing long burgundy wizard robes stepped out. "Is anybody here?" said Albus Dumbledore, walking to the centre of the room.

"Professor, we're here, in the kitchen!" Lily said.

Not so long after, Albus walked in, with a small smile. Lily had prepared Harry's baby bottle with milk and James had his mouth full of pancakes.

"James!" Lily said, in an upset tone. "Go slow, they're not going to run away from you!"

"...Ukuktu-el!" he said, with his mouth full. Albus' smile grew larger and he sat in front of James, not waiting for an invitation. Lily rolled her eyes and blushed furiously, her face's color imitating her hair completely.

James swallowed and repeated "I said, you cook too well..." Lily let out her breath, staring at the floor and shaking her head. She would look upset, if the sides of her mouth weren't curved upside. "Good morning, Professor Dumbledore. Is everything ok with you, sir?" James said.

"Ah, indeed, my dear James. I came to see how you were..." Albus' smile widened a bit more "...and to propose something for you."

"We're all fine, sir. Of course, we would appreciate if we could go out, but..." James said, shaking his head a bit. Lily sat besides him, holding Harry and feeding him. She glared at James. They always argued because of this. James knew they couldn't go out, but his free spirit just could not stand staying inside that damn house 24/7.

"Well, that's exactly the proposal I have to offer you, James." James' face shone in a way it hadn't in a while. Lily's eyes widened, as she wasn't expecting this. If Albus noticed the surprise, he didn't show them, though, as he continued speaking. "All the other Order members are already on missions, and I still have something I would like to have done. It's rather simple, nothing more than getting an artifact at Longbottom Manor, and taking it to Hogwarts. I would do it myself, but its magic will only allow two complete pureblood people to move it with magic. As my mother was a Muggle born witch, I'm not considered 'pure' enough, so I just can't move it."

They were not only surprised, but now completely shocked. They knew Albus Dumbledore since they were 11 years old, but it was probably the fisrt time he mentioned his family.

"So... you think... I-I can go, p-professor?" James asked, stuttering a bit, as he didn't dare believing his luck. Albus keep on smiling as he nodded.

"Yes, James, you wanted to get out, and I think that this is a great opportunity. It's not dangerous, and, today being Halloween, I guess even the Death Eater might stay home with their families. Or maybe I'm believing too much in their fondness to their family" Dumbledore looked at them over his glasses.

Lily was smiling forcefully. Of course she was afraid of letting James out. But he had been so unhappy stuck in that house that she understood it would be excellent for him to go out. "Who's going with him, Albus?" She asked.

"Well, I think that no one would be better than his best friend, Sirius Black." He said, turning his gaze to Lily.

James couldn't hold any longer and jumped off of the chair, saying '_yeah'_ loudly, laughing. Harry moved a bit on his mother's arms so he could see the origin of that shout and watched his father. Lily and Albus joined James' laughter as he danced a bit, punching the air, in a clear sign of commemoration. He was going to go out, work a little bit, and the best, with his best friend!

"Are you ok with this?" Albus said. James turned to him to express his agreement when he saw that his former headmaster was looking at Lily. He then watched her, with expectancy.

If Lily had answered without thinking, she would have said no. Actually, she was tempted to say no, as if that was the answer she was supposed to give. But something, something she didn't know, she didn't recognize, made her think differently. She smiled a bit and said:

"Of course I am, I just want James to be happy." Jamed smile hard and jumped to give her a deep kiss. Harry stopped having his milk and shouted "DADDY!", a frown covering his little face. James and Lily laughed loudly, while he kissed his angry son's forehead.

"I'm happy to see you are so thrilled with this. But I want you to consider everything. Don't forget the importance of your... choices." Albus said, peering a bit and standing up. The whole time, he was watching Lily, but the Potters where so deep in their own happiness, grinning and smiling at each other, that they didn't even see Albus Dumbledore walking to the living room, entering the fireplace and going back to Hogwarts.

* * *

Later that day, as the sun went down, the whole family was in Lily and James' bedroom. Harry was on the bed, playing with his plush stag, by far his favorite toy. James was getting dressed to go to his little adventure and Lily was sat beside Harry.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" James asked, for the third time this day. After the inicial happiness with the prospect of going out, he started to get worried of Lily feeling left out. She chuckled as she nodded.

"Of course I am, love. I haven't seen you this happy since the we went into hiding. I am having fun myself, just to see you so excited about it..."

"Maybe we should have asked Albus for you to come as well..." james said, still eyeing her.

"Oh, no, darling... I don't have this need to get out, I'm perfectly fine with staying here. You go and have fun with Sirius. I'll be waiting for you here."

James smiled and leaned so he could kiss her.

* * *

James left for the Longbottoms' house at 09:00 p.m.. He was supposed to meet Sirius outside the wards so they could go inside and retrieve the object and take it to Hogwarts. He looked around but saw nobody.

"Great, Sirius is late..." He said, in a low tone.

"Ouch, Prongs, this way you hurt my feelings!" a voice said, behind him. Sirius Black took out his Disillusionment charm as James had a mini heart attack and turned to look behind himself, his face as pale as milk. Sirius barked a laugh.

"Padfoot!" James said, laughing. "You dog, you almost killed me!" he said.

Sirius' grin widened "Ha! This is for saying that I was late. I'm never late to see my best friend." He said, looking deep into James' hazel eyes.

James closed the distance between them and hugged his friend tightly. They missed each other more than they could bear. Their life was together since they were 11, and living without one another made both of them sad and disturbed.

After a while, they separated. James felt a bit ashamed of having some tears in his eyes, but he was able to hold them there. Sirius laughed a bit more and patted his best friend's shoulder.

"How have you been, mate?" He asked.

"Ah, nothing happens in my life, being stuck in that house..." James said, with a half smile.

"At least you have Harry and Lily..."

"Actually, Padfoot, they're the only things that keep me alive." James said, putting his arm over Sirius' shoulders, as they started walking towards the big white house.

"How are they, Prongs?" Sirius asked, looking at James, as they walked. "How's my godson?"

"They are happier than me, this I can tell you for sure. They seem not to care about living like birds in a cage..." James said, a bit bitter.

"Ah, Prongs, stop being such a Drama Queen!" Sirius said, laughing.

James chuckled. He was so happy for seeing his best friend that he just didn't care about the insult, and he surely wouldn't keep thinking about being stuck at his house. "Harry is so big, mate! He's almost a boy now! He's starting to develop speech. He already asks for 'mummy' and 'daddy'. And he remembers you, mate. He sometimes say 'pafoo', and I've seen him staring at you picture in his bedroom..."

Sirius gave him a sad smile. He understood perfectly the definition of bittersweet: he was happy because his godson remembered him, but he was beyond sad for not being able to see him. James realized this and said:

"Maybe, after leaving the artifact at Hogwarts, you could drop me at home. Then you could see him. He'll probably be asleep, but I think that, if we don't tell Lily, we can wake him up!" James said, as he pressed the button of the doorbell. Sirius seemed excited with the idea, the sadness completely gone. "You're going to see, buddy, he's walking everywhere alone..."

The door opened and Augusta Longbottom stared at them, her eyes sparkling as they always were. Her wand was in her hand, pointing between them.

"What did you and Frank discovered that you agreed the day before you went into hiding?" She said, looking at James.

"That if we could, we would change places with Harry and Neville, so that Voldemort would be looking for us and not them." James said calmly, looking back at her. Sirius gasped. Not even he knew this.

Augusta sternly asked them to go inside, and closed the door seconds after the entered the lobby, but not before looking outside suspiciously. She turned at them. She looked at James with a small smile on her lips. "James, darling, it's good to see you safe and sound..."

"Madam Longbottom, you look fantastic tonight!" Sirius said, as James opened his mouth to reply. Augusta turned to him with a frown.

"I'm not bought by cheap flattery, Black. But it's good to see you too." Indeed, Augusta couldn't care less about appreciation for the long silk green dress she was wearing. But the boys knew very well what would buy her: Courage. Bravery. Loyalty. For Augusta Longbottom to like you, you'd have to prove yourself a real Griffindor. James won her by saving Frank, her son, from the attack of a Kappa, back when they were studying at Hogwarts. Sirius, on the other hand, with his laid back, '_laissez faire_, _laissez aller_, _laissez passer' _nature, got nothing from her_._

"We're here to get the artifact, madam Longbottom." James said, holding bak his laughter because of Sirius' face.

"Of course you are, darling." She said, looking back to him, a smile on her face. "It's over there, in the living room..." She put a hand on his shoulder as she guided him to the living room. Sirius muttered something that sounded like 'cow', but nobody heard it.

* * *

Not long after, they were leaving the house, wands levitating the heavy box. It took a while for them to recognize how to make the box accept their magic, but then, it was easy to move it around. As they entered the lobby, Augusta said, in a low whisper:

"James, honey, how are Lily and little Harry?"

James looked at her and said: "They're fine, madam. They're at home..."

Augusta looked to the floor. "I wish this whole thing ended soon. I don't know how long I can hold living without my family around..."

James looked at her, sympathetically. It was hard to see the heavy toll that Lord Voldemort was causing in everybody's live.

"So do I. I'm sure he will be defeated soon, Augusta. I can feel it to my bones."

James didn't know how right his bones were.

* * *

Lily had a nice night, brewing some potions. She loved brewing potions, much because it made her calm, but James was not so fond of it. This was a subject he actually had to study to maintain his average grade, which, of course, was Outstanding. So he wasn't a great fan of it.

As James didn't like it, Lily seldom did something related to potions. A night without James was her biggest opportunity to brew some household potions, like Dreamless Sleeping potions, Sleeping draughts, Wiggenweld potions and Pepper-up potions.

After finishing all the ones she thought that were necessary, she cleaned everything, putting the objects in the correct places with a wave of her wand. She used the stairs to get back to the kitchen, as they had their basement transformed into a potion lab.

Harry was silently holding his stag, which he called 'puwongs', as Sirius had tried to teach him to say 'Prongs', when he gave him the plush toy. Lily soon got to Harry's nursery. She checked his diaper, even though she knew it was clean, and started rocking Harry for him to sleep.

Then she felt it.

A cold, unnatural chill when down her spine, freezing everything it touched. And then it happened once again. But she felt the difference between the two. The first one was the alarm. The alarm that informed her that somebody unwanted walked into their hiding. The second... well, the second was absolute fear.

* * *

Sirius and James soon arrived at Hogwarts. As they checked their watches, they saw it was little over 10:30 p.m., so everybody should be asleep already.

"Ha! It feels just like all those nights up after curfew!" Sirius whispered, making James chuckle.

"I sort of expect Macgonagall to show up and give us detention." he said

They moved silently to the headmaster's office and put the heavy box in the room besides it, as it had been previously agreed. They closed the door silently and James locked it with a soundless _'colloportus'._

Then, they went upstairs to inform Dumbledore that everything had worked to perfection. They used the password Albus had given them, _Brigadeiro,_ and went up the stairs. As they got to the door, they heard two people talking. They knocked on the door and heard the conversation stop.

"Enter" Albus said. As they opened the door, they saw Dumbledore talking to Snape.

"SNIVELLUS!" Sirius shouted, getting his wand ready. James did the same soon after. As Sirius got ready to fire his first jinx, two red rays came to their direction. Sirius was not paying attention, so his wand simply jumped out of his hand, to the other side of the room. James, on the other hand, was fully aware of the situation and extinguished the spell with a silent '_finite incantatem_'. Albus smiled at this.

"Ah, James, I see you've been practicing..." he said, as he stood up. When he got to the boys, he gave Sirius' wand back to him.

Sirius, however, didn't even pay attention to his former headmaster, as he was staring with hatred at Snape. "What is this DEATH EATER doing here, Dumbledore?" he said, still glaring at Snape's direction.

Albus sighed with a hush sound. "Sirius, he's not a death eater. He was a death eater. He has, let's say, changed sides..."

"I'M NOT GOING TO BUY IT! I DON'T TRUST HIM!" Sirius shouted, his eyes filled with anger and disgust.

Behind him, James didn't look very content either. His eyes were wide and his face was pale. His nails were starting to hurt the palm of his hand, because of the strength he was using to keep his fists closed.

"You may not trust him, but you should trust me, and I say he's our ally now." Dumbledore said, gravely.

Sirius started inflating with anger. When he was about t explode the first word, James felt it.

A shower of cold water. Cold enough to freeze him entirely, hold all the actions he would have made to stop Sirius from shouting at Albus Dumbledore. And this sudden coldness was concentrated on his back. He knew what that meant. Hell, he had performed the spell that would create that sensation.

His house had been invaded.

And Lily and Harry were in danger.

* * *

With a simple wand movement, the front of the door of the Potters' house was blasted. Shards of wood flew everywhere, ending the cleanliness that Lily worked hard to maintain. Lord Voldemort entered the house with a cruel smile planted on his face. Actually, his whole face resembled a teethed very ugly white snake. His red eyes skimmed through the living room but saw nobody.

"Homenum Revelio" He said. Even his voice would remind a snake.

He smile widened as he went to the stairs and started to go up.

* * *

Lily didn't know what to do. She put Harry in his crib and started to think. Her wand was in the basement. She realized that Moody would give her quite a scolding for not having 'Constant Vigilance'. She looked around and decided to put the bookcase with Harry's books in front of the door. As she was pushing it, she heard the blast at the front door.

"Harry, love, everything will be okay, right, baby?" Lily said, too much to herself. Harry just looked at her, and then started struggling to get out of the crib.

"Mommy..." He called, stretching his little arms in her direction. Lily got to him and held him tight. She didn't even notice when she started to cry.

Suddently, the door of the nursery opened with an explosion. Lily turned to face the door, being careful not to put Harry in front of her.

There he was. Lord Voldemort, the reason of her nightmares, the reason James had suffered, the reason she couldn't see her friends. And now, probably, the reason why Harry wouldn't live longer. "Give me the baby, and I might not kill you, girl" He said.

"No, please... Not Harry, please... Have mercy... Not my baby, please... Not Harry..." She cried, sobbing.

"SILENCE!" He shouted. "Give me the baby this instant, and I will kill you without so much pain!"

Lily stared at him. And then she knew. That was the end, she was going to die.

Some people say that when you are about to die, you see your whole live pass in front of you like a film of some sort. But for Lily, that didn't happen. Instead of seeing the past, she started to see the future. Or better, the future Harry would have if he wouldn't die this night. She saw James holding an 11-year-old Harry, wearing the black robes from Hogwarts, the Gryffindor crest on it. They were playing and laughing, James spinning Harry, in some kind of commemoration.

This 'memory', or maybe, vision, created a bubble inside of Lily. A bubble of something warm, something big, something important. Lily's fear was still present, but this bubbled started to make her happy. Very happy. Too happy. And then, she smiled. A watery smile, because of her tears that insisted in keeping falling.

"Why are you smiling, you crazy mudblood? Are you happy to face Death?" Voldemort said, with his eyes widened. "Well, it's time, then. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Lily still had time to think: In Harry's favorite story, the youngest Peverell brother received Death as a friend. Lily was receiving Death. Not as a friend, of course, but much more as an ally, the end of all this suffering, all this fear. Lily was happy, after all. The bubble had filled her completely, and she would die happy. She saw the green curse, heard a loud blast, and everything became black.

* * *

**A.N.2**: Okay, there you have the beginning of my story. I know it seems the same as many others, but I didn't get to the point in which I separate my story from the others.

I hope you liked it, and all comments and review will be appreciated. I'll try to post the second chapter tomorrow, if I'm able to finish it. But I already started it, so there's a big chance of it happening.

Cheers!


	2. Suffering

**Choices**

**Summary:** There's power in all of the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

**A.N.: **Guys, I want to thank you soooo much for the attention you gave to Choices! Everybody who read, followed, favorited, and principally sent me a PM or reviewed it, my HUGE thank you! It's not easy to write something from your heart and see it completely ignored by people... It hurts, if I may say... So, in this chapter, I'll show you what I changed from the canon story. But the plot isn't here just yet. Ah, this chapter is one of the most hurtful I've ever written. I promisse this drama will not continue further.  
If you like strong emotions, and wouldn't care about crying a little (I cried like a baby, to be sincere, but I'm a little too sensitive), I recommend listening to the song **Hurt**, by Christina Aguilera, during the beginning of this chapter, marked by (*). But be aware. You might cry. I sure did. Cheers, and please, review it if possible!

* * *

James didn't understand what was happening. The moment he felt the chill going down his spine, he lost all his abilities to identify what was around him. Everything passed as blurs, as if fog had covered everything around him. He heard Sirius start screaming something about Snape, and then he heard another scream. While the first scream, Sirius' scream, was full of anger, the second was struggled, hurtful, pained, like a trapped animal. It took him a while to realize that that scream was coming from himself.

The expressions on Albus', Sirius' and Snape's faces were similar: Surprise, a hint of anger, but principally fright. Finally there was silence in the room, for the first time since they had arrived there.

James told the other three what happened, what he had felt and what that meant, and then everything became a major havoc. Dumbledore pointing his wand to the silvery objects in his office to turn them on, and they started to spin or emit some sounds and lights, Sirius shouting and Snape sobbing in desperation (which would be a big surprise for James, if he had paid attention).

Not long, though, James understood what he had to do. He had to go to his house, he had to find his wife, and his son. He hadn't been there when somebody invaded his house, but maybe he would get there before something tragic happened. If they were alive, he would fight. He would fight more than he'd ever fought during his whole live, even more than the other three times he fought Lord Voldemort.

If they weren't alive... James couldn't even consider the possibility. Lily and Harry were his life, so, no, they wouldn't die. James would die if they died. So, if he was alive, they couldn't be dead, right?

James only stopped running when he got outside the wards that didn't let him apparate. He didn't hear what Dumbledore said before he left his office, and he surely wasn't paying attention to Sirius shouting his name, as he followed James.

Finally, he got to the forest, outside the protection of the anti-apparation wards. He didn't even feel the sensation of apparating, something he got used to, but never liked in any way.

(*) And then he was in front of his house. Or maybe, what had been his house, as this one was a big mass of destruction. There seemed to be some fire in the upper part of the house because the air was filled with the terrible smell of smoke. However, James barely acknowledged all this. The only thing that entered his mind was the horror caused by image above his house.

An enormous green skull with a snake coming out of its mouth, as if mocking James, taunting him. The Mark. His Mark. James had little time to let the information sink in, as he inhaled and smelled the smoke that was hovering in the air.

Suddenly, the smell changed. It was now earthy. Actually, it smelled much more like grass, but the hint of earth was there. What James hadn't realized, though, was that he had fallen, his face was in fact aspirating the grass of his garden.

"LILY! HARRY!" he shouted, his voice hoarse even to his own ears.

James Potter was in utter disgrace. There would be no other word or expression for it. There was so much pain, radiating from nowhere to every part of his body. He cried as his heart burnt and contracted itself to a piece of nothing more than coal. His cries turned into something more, a scandal of sobs and tears, but his mind was so far away that he just couldn't calm himself down. He didn't want to calm himself down.

Green eyes. Four green eyes he worshiped, lived for, thought about every single minute of his existence. And now he could almost see the light escaping from his precious little emeralds. It would be better not to have sight if he couldn't see those eyes anymore.

The sound of Lily's voice, the first thing and the last thing he heard every day since his life mattered. Harry's giggles of joy, screams of laughter when James tickled him, when James blew a raspberry on his bare tummy. It would be better not to hear if he couldn't listen to their happiness anymore.

A second later, or maybe an eternity, James wouldn't know, Sirius appeared somewhere behind him. If he said something, if he did something, James wouldn't be able to know. He lost all his senses, every power in his body, magical or muggle, concentrated in saving his memories of the two pieces of him that were gone.

"JAMES!" Sirius shouted, holding his best friend's back. "PLEASE, PRONGS, HOLD ON... PLEASE, PRONGS, BE STRONG..." Sirius had a hard time to convince himself to hold on and be strong, be he'd never seen James in such grief, not even when his parents died one year after their graduation.

Sirius himself cried softly. He wanted to do about the same things that James was doing, but he kept his mind away from the fact that one of his best friends and his beloved godson were dead. Instead, he focused on his brother in anything but blood that thanks God was still alive. He focused on the fact that this brother needed him, and this brother needed somebody to make him continue living, and kept the grief as far away as he could.

With some effort, James arched his back a bit so that Sirius could hug him. Instantly, Sirius felt his shoulder wet. The quantity of tears, of water, coming from his best friend's eyes were inhuman, and yet they kept coming. Hell, Sirius was crying as well, he couldn't hold it, but the tears coming from James' eyes could easily be compared to a river flowing... He muttered some nonsense, trying to get James to calm down a bit, but he knew it would do almost no good.

Eventually, Sirius Black got used to his own sobs, as well as his friend's and the sound of wood burning from the house. That was when he heard a noise. A noise that shouldn't be there, a noise that he wasn't expecting to hear. A sound that went straight from his ears to his heart. Well, he had heard that so many times before that there was no doubt what it was.

The problem was he thought he wouldn't hear that sound anymore. Everything he knew as part of the Order of the Phoenix told him that that was just impossible. Inside the half destructed house, inside of the ruins that once was his best friend's palace, there was a baby. Crying. But not only any baby crying.

Inside that house, Harry was alive and crying.

* * *

Albus couldn't understand what had happened. Their plan was flawless, the Fidelius charm performed by Lily should have kept Tom Riddle out of their home. It should have kept all their enemies out of there, unless Sirius permitted them to enter.

When he saw James... No, wait, the ghost that resembled James run from his office, and then Sirius desperately following, his doubts raised more. With a glance at Severus, who had sat in one of the chintz armchairs, crying hard, he left his office in a pursuit for Sirius Black.

They knew there was a spy from Voldemort inside the Order of the Phoenix. That's way he kept from everybody the fact that Snape was at their side since he told Voldemort about the prophecy, and his former Lord decided he was going to kill Lily Evans. He even acknowledged the suspicion that James and Sirius had that maybe Remus Lupin was that 'enemy within'. But Sirius Black? Hadn't he been informally adopted by the Potters'? Hadn't Albus himself seen Sirius crying like there was no tomorrow when Harold Potter and his wife died?

It seemed impossible to him that James Potter's brother in everything but blood would betray him like that... And yet, that was a war, and everything is not what it seems during a war.

Dumbledore was no thirteen year old teenager, but he that night ran like one. He couldn't lose the sight of Sirius Black, principally if he was the spy.

When they finally got to the entrance of the forest, he saw James apparating, as well as Sirius trying to reach the point in which he could do it too. A sharp movement of wand and half a dozen well chosen words allowed Albus to prevent Sirius to apparate. Sirius looked to his body in confusion as he couldn't follow his friend.

"Sirius Black..." Albus said, using a simple spell to fill his lungs with air, so he could speak again. "I think we have to talk..."

Sirius turned to face his old mentor. The pain that Albus Dumbledore saw in his frown of a face was enough to make himself stop from doing anything such as cursing the man who was before him.

"Albus... I need to find J-James. I n-need to h-help him... L-Lily... and Ha-Harry..." he stuttered looking deep into Dumbledore's blue eyes, tears starting to fall from his own eyes.

"I understand Sirius... But you can't overlook my concern... Only one person could have allowed Voldemort inside that house, Sirius. And who do you think I reckon as the one who let him?"

Comprehension sunk into Sirius, and Albus could see in his eyes that he understood that the headmaster thought it had been him, of course. James refused Dumbledore's idea for him to be the one to hold their secret place and decide to use Sirius as the keeper instead. But then Sirius had the stupid idea of using Wormtail instead of himself.

"Albus... We didn't tell you, but we decided to use Peter Pettigrew as the secret keeper... He was probably killed as well..." Sirius said, still with tears in his eyes. "You know how to use Legilimency... I'll let you in so you can see..."

Albus whispered _'legilimens'_ and entered Sirius' mind. Instead of the normal resistance and pushing out he generally felt while doing this, Dumbledore could feel Sirius' mind guiding him inside, showing his memories and thoughts.

Not too long after, he saw Lily performing the Fidelius charm flawlessly, in the presence of James, Peter and Sirius. But instead of saying Sirius' name, she said Pettigrew's. With a movement of his wrist, he got back to his own conscience.

"Go get James, Sirius. He'll probably need you." he said, lifting the anti-apparating spell. "I'll get Peter Pettigrew myself." He said, seconds before the crack that informed him that Sirius was gone.

His eyes narrowed. It was time to confront the spy that had caused so many problems to the order. With a loud crack, Albus was gone.

* * *

Sirius couldn't believe it. Actually, he much more didn't dare believing. Nobody, adult or child, male or female, pureblood or muggle born, would be spared if got in the middle of Voldemort's path. Surviving Voldemort's wrath was virtually impossible for anybody other than Dumbledore. Escaping would be possible, even with difficult. But receiving his 'visit' and continuing alive? That was so unlikely that Voldemort himself normally casts the Dark Mark even before killing the family in the house...

And yet, the cry was there. Undoubtedly inside the ruins of the house. Sirius stood up, leaving James a bit in his own sorrow, and moved towards the house. Excitement started to grow inside of him, and he eventually started to run towards the house.

The first thing he saw was the blasted door, or maybe, what was left of it, which wasn't much. Pieces of wood were spread all around, but Sirius didn't stop to identify the real state of the living room. He ran up the stairs, skipping two or three steps at a time. As he got to the main corridor of the upper floor of the house, he could already see the room in fire. His heart skipped some beats when he saw Lily's body in front of Harry's crib.

The fire was concentrated on the wall of the door, on Harry's chest of drawers. It would soon start consumating the carpet and reach the point in which Lily was.

"AGUAMENTI!" Sirius shouted, pointing his wand to the chest of drawers. The fire was wild, but the steady flow of water soon extinguished it. Sirius knew the danger wasn't over, as he saw the ceiling, burnt and falling apart. Surely, this place would collapse.

He carefully entered the nursery, looking inside the crib. There, sitting and fiercely holding the plush toy Sirius himself had bought, was his little miracle. Harry was crying, and his forehead had a mark in the form of a lightning bolt. As he saw Sirius, he stood up, holding the bars of the crib, and started crying a bit louder.

"Mommy... mommy..." He called. Sirius got him on his arms and hug him as strong as he could without hurting his little godson. Not long, though, he had to part from him, as Harry kept on struggling in his arms.

Sirius looked deep inside does emerald eyes he loved so much. They were scared, but no tears were coming anymore, while his eyes were still let out bittersweet tears. "Pafoo..." Harry said, putting his little hand on Sirius's cheek. Then, the baby turned to look at his mother's body, still on the floor, saying: "Mommy...". And back to Sirius, with eyes that expressed way more than words would ever.

Sirius understood, of course. Harry wanted his mother. Sirius got near Lily, kneeling beside her and putting Harry in front of her chest. Lily was laying on her side, her eyes closed. She looked as though she were just sleeping.

Sirius' heart almost stopped when Harry hold his mother's arm and laid under it, covering himself as if she had put her arm there so they could sleep together. Sirius put his hand on his friend's face. It was still warm. Sirius decided that was too much for him, at that specific moment. He got Lily's wrist to lift her arm and get Harry so he could show James his little baby was alive and well.

Sirius let go of Lily as if he had received a shock, his eyes widened in surprise. He had already stopped crying, but that just cleaned all his sorrow, all the heaviness inside him. In its place, he felt something very similar to fear. And hope. He gripped her wrist again and waited.

Then he felt it again. Pulse.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew's hideout was a simple house, miles away from London. It was a magical community, but it wasn't very famous. The place belonged to Dedalus Diggle, and he himself almost didn't remember having the property, being as rich as his family was, and being such a petty house.

The wards were produced by Albus himself, but even the headmaster of Hogwarts had his doubts that Pettigrew could be found in this insignificant piece of land. The village was used mainly by families which were still growing their own wealth, and, as soon as these families got any better, the would leave for a better land, closer to the Ministry or the principal cities of Great Britain, not ever taking a glance back.

Dumbledore blasted open the door. A simple spell showed him that there was nobody inside the house. Peter Pettigrew was gone. But the fact that he was gone proved his disloyalty. Peter told the headmaster he would stay home during Halloween, and that he would talk to Albus the day after.

Dumbledore went out of the house with his eyes sparkling. If a person who didn't know him saw this, this person would say he was only serious. If a friend saw, this friend would say that he was upset. But if the person truly knew Albus Dumbledore... Someone like Dodge, McGonagall, Bagshot, Flamel, or, why not say, Grindewald... Then this person would be able to say that Albus Dumbledore was angry. Furious, actually.

He took another glance at the house and decided to leave. But not before casting some mighty traps that he doubted even Voldemort himself could undo.

* * *

James' head felt heavy and full of pain. He was still crying, his sobs shaking his whole body, but no more tears came down from his eyes. He was completely dry. He knew his face was probably horribly wet and possibly full of snot, but he couldn't care less. They only people to whom he took care of his appearance were dead. Nothing mattered to him.

Some time during his misery, he felt Sirius hugging him, and crying with him. That helped a bit, but his suffering seemed to be endless. Not too long later, he felt his best friend letting him go rapidly. He felt more lonely than he already felt, but couldn't bring himself to ask Sirius to stay.

He continued there, in complete disgrace, moving a little up and down, as if bowing slightly. He didn't know what was happening, and he didn't know how long he had stayed that way. He just... didn't care. Couldn't care less.

An eternity, or maybe a second later he felt somebody coming to his direction, from the ruins of his former house. He didn't even have time to look up as Sirius stopped running in front of him.

"James, look at me!" Sirius said. But James didn't want to look. "PRONGS, LOOK AT ME, DAMN IT!" he shouted.

Before James could process what was happening so he could look up, he heard a voice. Nothing more than a low whisper, but one he knew very well.

"Daddy..." James jerked his head up and found himself staring at two green eyes. His baby's green eyes. Opened and alive. Harry was alive, and was stretching his little tiny arms to get to his father.

James didn't even think. He didn't even feel the change in his sorrow. The change from sorrow to utter happiness. He grabbed his son and held him in a huge, forceful hug. He felt his son's heart beating, and he felt Harry's little arms hold his neck. A miracle, his son was alive. Somehow, tears started falling again. It seems his body had a special reservoir of teardrops for joy.

"Sirius! My b-baby is alive! SIRIUS!" he screamed, laughing. He felt as if he would never let go of his small treasure, that continued alive, continued with him.

"Yeah, mate... But let me tell you... Lily is alive as well..." Sirius said. James stopped laughing and stared at his friend.

"W-What?" He stuttered.

"Lily is alive, Prongs. She's inside the house, I couldn't get her out of there holding Harry. Even to levitate her, I would need to have my hands free. Let's go, buddy. Let's fetch your wife..."

Sirius barely had time to finish speaking. James had already stood and was running towards the house, holding Harry.

* * *

Albus arrived at Hogwarts around midnight. He was tired and felt defeated. He understood the whole wizarding world depended on him, but he counted on the prophecy as the key to defeating Lord Voldemort. If the boy was really killed, that meant... Well, that meant they were back to stage one.

Dumbledore normally didn't drink alcoholic beverages, mainly because of all the problems that that represented in his live, based on his father and his brother. But this time, he would make an exception. A firewhiskey would be marvelous to his inner state, and he would finally be able to control this... fear that was starting to radiate throughout his body.

He got so absorbed into having a drink, that he got actually startled when he entered in his office and saw that there was somebody there already.

"Did you discover anything, Albus?" Severus Snape said, his head in his hands, sat at the same armchair he was sat when Albus left. "D-Did you see if sh-she was..." He stuttered.

"Murdered, Severus?" Snape winced, his whole back tensing. "No, Sirius went there to see what..."

"HE was the one who told the Dark Lord where they were! HE was his spy..." Snape shouted interrupting the headmaster.

"No, Severus. He was not the keeper. Peter Pettigrew was. They thought Lord Voldemort would try to get the information from Sirius, and they imagined he would never consider Peter as the one who actually had it." Dumbledore said, as Snape turned to stare at him.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! It's still his fault! His and bloody P-Potter's!" Sirius snapped.

"You see, Severus... I don't see anybody else's fault here, except Peter's, Tom's and somebody else's..." Snape's eyes widened. He knew what was coming. "I think, and you have to agree that generally what I think is correct, that if Lord Voldemort didn't know about the prophecy, Lilian Potter wouldn't be dead!"

Snape withered substantially, but that didn't keep Dumbledore from continuing. The headmaster rarely lost his patience, but the exhaustion of the night, and the loss of pretty much every hope he had made him more susceptible to a mild loss of control.

"If he didn't know about anything he shouldn't know, Lily Potter would be safe, happy, free! And I guess, here using again the knowledge that I am correct, that Peter's betrayal wouldn't have affected the Order of the Phoenix that much, principally because the only ones who should know about the prophecy were the couples Potter and Longbottom, and myself. And the couples respected my wish, Severus, not telling even their friends about the prophecy. So, I have to rephrase myself. It's not Peter fault either. It's totally, wholly, completely, utterly YOURS!"

Snape looked as if he had been slapped. "I-I didn't mean it... I-I asked h-him to spare her!"

"Oh, indeed, Severus, Voldemort is known for his mercy and loyalty to his minions!" Dumbledore snapped.

"I-I didn't think..."

"I'm very aware of that, Severus..." Albus said, his eyes sparkling once more.

As Snape opened his mouth to say something more, there was a not so soft knock on the door. Dumbledore, who stood by the door since he arrived in the office, simply turned and opened the door. Snape rapidly cleaned his eyes with his sleeves.

Outside the door, there was an extremely happy Sirius Black, his smile reaching from one ear to the other.

"Albus, they are alive! Harry and Lily are alive!"

Snape started crying again.

* * *

**A.N.2: **Here you are, guys, chapter 2. I sincerely hope you liked it! Please, tell me through the reviews or PMs! I'll post chapter 03 as soon as possible, which should be around two days from now... See ya!


	3. We are family

**Choices**

**Summary:** There's power in all of the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_As Snape opened his mouth to say something more, there was a not so soft knock on the door. Dumbledore, who stood by the door since he arrived in the office, simply turned and opened the door. Snape rapidly cleaned his eyes with his sleeves._

_Outside the door, there was an extremely happy Sirius Black, his smile reaching from one ear to the other._

_"Albus, they are alive! Harry and Lily are alive!"_

_Snape started crying again._

* * *

James was living at Hogwarts now. Well, not as much as living, but all his time he spent there, anyway. Dumbledore was kind enough to let him stay in an used classroom next to the Hospital Wing, adapted to be similar to a private hospital room for Lily, with a small bedroom area for James and Harry and a fireplace with armchairs for the visitors.

She had been in a coma since that terrible night, five days before. James didn't trust taking her to St. Mungos, and that's why Dumbledore allowed her to stay at Hogwarts, where Poppy Pomfrey could take care of her.

As it was the beginning of November, the school was full of students. Thus, thinking about Lily's welfare, it was decided she needed a spare room, so she wasn't disturbed by students who went to the Hospital Wing because they had a headache, had fallen from broom, or suffered some sort of magical accident.

James spent all his time there, holding Lily's hand. As they didn't have a house anymore, he didn't have anywhere else to go. Not that he wanted to go any other place. He'd rather stay there, with his wife and his baby. According to Poppy, Harry was perfect, but the scar, caused by the killing curse, was there to stay.

"You have to go somewhere else... Go to my apartment... You have to take a proper shower and try to relax a little..." Sirius would say, every time he visited, which was every single morning and afternoon after the attack.

"I have already left her once, Padfoot. I'm never going to make this mistake again." James generally said. His mood was terrible these days, and Sirius recognized that James blamed himself for not being there for his wife and kid. Sadly, there was nothing Sirius could do to help his best friend, since he himself was also drowning in guilt for having offered the idea of changing the Secret Keeper. They hadn't discussed the betrayal and the attack yet, because they hoped Lily could explain things better when she woke up.

Harry was staying there as well, of course. McGonagall transfigured a bed into a crib so he could stay with his mother and father. He spent most of his day exploring the room, and everybody tried to be extra careful with him, because he tried to use every chance he had to get out of the room and explore the school properly.

As Dumbledore preferred to maintain secrecy about the whole incident, few people knew about the family that Hogwarts was harboring, so, fewer people visited them. Sirius, the professors of Hogwarts and Hagrid were mainly the only visitors they received, but Remus also showed up on the third day after they arrived there.

Remus had been working with the other werewolves to try and get some of them to the Order's side. He almost didn't spend time with the Marauders anymore, principally because making the other lycanthropes believe him wasn't an easy task.

He knocked on the door some minutes after lunch. That was the first day James could force himself to have some soup and that was the day that Pomfrey confirmed that Lily was as healthy as possible and the only thing that was keeping her in coma was an apparent magical exhaustion, so everybody was a bit happier. Harry had been taken by Professor Mcgonagall (who surprised everybody with her abilities with babies) for a tour around Hogwarts, so Sirius simply opened the door.

Their friend was more serious than he normally was, and that meant something. Moony was never as cheerful as the other Marauders, but he usually tried to look as if he were at least a bit sympathetic. This wasn't one of those days. He just entered in the room silently and stopped beside Lily's bed.

"How is she doing?" he asked, coldly. Of course James and Sirius knew why.

James stood up from the chair he was sat on the other side of the bed and moved to stand next to his friend. He didn't miss the slight tension that run through his friend's body. "She's going to be OK, Moony..." he said, in a lower than normal tone.

Remus slowly nodded, his eyes still fixed on his friend. They spent some time like this, Sirius and James looking from the floor to their friend, and Remus watching Lily as if she were some kind of a beautiful painting.

"Moony... W-we have to tal..." Sirius stuttered, still standing on the place he was since he closed the door.

"Don't say we have to talk, Sirius!" Remus snapped, still looking at Lily. "We have nothing to talk about."

"Remus, we didn't do it on purpose..." James intervened.

Remus jerked his head up, looking at James for the first time. His eyes showed some fear and a hint of anger, but there was no doubt that the biggest emotion in them was pain. "Oh, yes, James, you accidentally believed that I was a traitor... A bloody spy from Voldemort!" He shouted, his face a frown.

"Moony, we almost didn't see you... We almost didn't spend time with you, and you were always with the... others..." James replied, softly.

"TO HELP YOU! TO HELP THE ORDER! What, did you think I liked it? That they felt like... family?" he spat. "You have no idea what I've been through! I had to deal with those... those animals every day and every night! I had to see the... devil who turned me into this... monster every once in a while! You remember how I used to wake up SCREAMING because of my nightmares with Greyback, and yet I had to see him EVERY... BLOODY... DAY! And what for? For my friends, my only friends, the only people I actually love, to think I'm a freaking SPY!"

Both James and Sirius seemed to have been slapped. Tears were freely rolling from Remus' eyes, his face puce from the shouting and crying.

"I'm so sorry, Moony... We are sorry... I feel like... Like crap for suspecting you... I was... We were stupid in considering the possibility..." James said.

"And yet you did!" He said, hurtful.

"We didn't want to believe it, Moony! We talked a lot about it..." Sirius said.

"I KNOW! That's probably what hurts more! You talked about it! But you never questioned me, you never gave me a chance to explain myself! Hell, I had to hear it from Dumbledore! You didn't have the courage to tell me!" He screamed.

Everybody stayed in silence for a whole minute, Remus panting a bit for lack of air from screaming.

"When did he tell you, Moony?" James asked, softly.

"Today in the morning, when I got here to give him a catch up on the werewolves' steps. He told me... what happened. I told him that it couldn't have been Sirius, he was loyal to you, and that's when he told me that it had been Peter. I again said that wasn't possible, because I would have known if you had used a different Secret Keeper, I thought you would have trusted me with this information as well. That's when I realized. When I asked him directly, Albus couldn't lie to me, and told me the truth..."

"We really are sorry, Moony... I wish there was something we could do to make it up to you..." Sirius said.

"You are our best friend. We are family, and we understand that you are angry. He made a terrible mistake, and screwed everything up beautifully, but we love you... and to be sincere, I'm actually grateful to discover that you're not a traitor, that you're our friend..." James intervened, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. Remus looked down, but didn't get away from his friends hand. "After this... disaster, I need you more than ever... I know you're angry, and you have all reasons to be, but don't go away from us just now. Lily needs you, Harry needs you... I need you..."

"We are going to pay, Moony. We are going to make it up to you... I'm serious..." Sirius said, getting close to his friend.

"I know you're Sirius, Padfoot..." Remus said, with a tearful grin.

James and Sirius chuckled in relief. The pun represented a good sign. "Hey, that joke is mine!" Sirius said, smiling.

Remus stopped smiling and looked to Lily. "I really am glad they are alright. That you are alright, Prongs..." He said.

Sirius moved closer to his friend, putting his arm over his shoulders. "We all are, Moony, believe me... I'm Sirius!" he said, as everybody chuckled a bit. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving! I didn't have time to have lunch" Remus said, holding him belly.

Sirius laughed a bit. "Alright, let's give Lily some peace. She would probably hex us senseless if she could for screaming while she is sleeping. Let's go to the kitchen and grab a bite." He said, with his arm still over Remus' shoulders, guiding him out. When they were in front of the door, Moony stopped and turned to stare at James.

"Are you coming, Prongs?" James looked to his wife peacefully sleeping and thought for a bit. Finally, he decided it wouldn't be terrible to leave her alone for some minutes.

"Ok, I'll go. If she heard all we said, she might as well wake up and jinx me like there's no tomorrow..." he said, walking towards the door.

Sirius pretended to be whipping the air and made the sound with his mouth. Everybody laughed and James slapped his best friend's shoulder, but not strong enough to hurt him. "Hey! Why am I your punching bag?" Sirius asked.

"Because it's nice to hit you, Padfoot..." James said, chuckling.

"And don't forget that you deserve it, you dog!" Remus said.

The three best friends laughed and James put his arm over Remus', on Sirius shoulders. Sirius rapidly put his other free arm over James' shoulders. And then they walked out of the room, side by side, Sirius in the middle.

The real three Marauders, together, as they should be.

* * *

The fifth day of waiting started as any other. Sirius arrived soon after James woke up and the three had breakfast together. Around 10:00 a.m., madam Pomfrey checked on Lily, and seemed satified with her status by then.

Harry spent the whole morning playing with his plush toys, saved by Sirius and Dumbledore, who went back to Godric's Hollow one day after the attack to try and save some of the things that belonged to the Potters. The journey wasn't very fruitful, mainly because the hole on the roof made it all collapse, basically destroying the whole upper lever of the house.

Dumbledore got the books from the bookcase in the living room, and Sirius got Harry's plush wolf and dog that were in the basement/potions lab, but those were the only valuable savings. According to Sirius, the plush rat had an 'unpleasant' end, but no further explanation was given.

Remus came over for lunch and the three marauders and the junior marauder, as Sirius now called Harry, had lunch next to Lily's bed. The lunch was uneventful, but it was quite happy, now that there was no suspicion in the air.

Soon after lunch was over, the elves took the table elsewhere, and the Marauders sat on armchairs in the center of the room, with Harry in the middle of the triangle with the coloring books brought by professor Mcgonagall. It was rather amusing watching Harry color the animals, principally because the was a very stressed monkey which refused to get back to the page of the book because it was painted blue.

"It seems like he doesn't remember anything from the night, right, Prongs?" Remus said, watching Harry painting a horse green.

"I think he does, Moony." James said. "He sometimes wakes up during the night crying as I've never seen him crying before. He gets very sensitive afterwards, and he asks for his mother for a while before going back to sleep." James sighed. It was clear that he felt frustrated for not being able to help his baby. "I reckon he has some nasty nightmares about that night. And Albus agrees with me..."

The group stayed in silence, still watching Harry play. The monkey finally agreed to return, but as soon as Harry saw it, he decided it deserved a beautiful purple tail, which make the monkey disappear again, much to Harry's distress. Suddenly, everybody heard a deep sob coming from inside the room. James rapidly turned to Lily's bed, but she was still sleeping. Carefully watching his friends, James noticed Remus was watching Sirius with his eyes full of pity. James then paid attention to his other friend and realized, with a shock, that Sirius was crying.

"Sirius, what's the problem, mate?" James asked, kneeling in front of his best friend's armchair. Sirius put his head in his hands and continued softly sobbing. Sirius so rarely cried that the scene was killing James inside. This must have been something extremely big. "Padfoot, you are scaring me, please, tell us what's wrong..."

Without taking his hands from his face, Sirius replied. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't suggested that goddamn traitor as the Secret Keeper, Harry and Lily would be ok, and everything would be fine!"

James' heart swell with compassion. Sirius blamed himself for making Harry cry, and that hurt him so much that he couldn't hold it any longer, so he cried. And when it comes to Sirius, crying showed how deep he cared for Harry. Actually, to say that Sirius cared for Harry would be an understatement. He loved him, like a father loves his son, probably like James loves his son.

"Hey, Padfoot, it's not your fault... Don't blame yourself, it was that rat's stupidity that created this whole mess! Don't worry about it, Harry is a bit affected by everything because he's a baby, and doesn't understand the everything will be ok... And, because he is a baby, he will overcome this faster than everybody else. Don't worry about him! And..." James looked at Remus. He was afraid of the effect that his words would produce in his friends, since they indirectly decided not to mention the whole suspicion thing anymore. Remus must have thought the same thing, as he nodded slightly for James. "And we are back as family now. All the rotten fruit are far away from us, and we have no suspicion among us, just like it had to be..."

"I know, James, I know... It's just... I still can't believe I was so wrong, and my mistake almost made me lose almost everything I care about!" Sirius said, finally stopping to cry and taken his hands from his face. James handed him a handkerchief, which he used to clean his face.

"Padfoot, nobody could imagine it... It's just the way it should be, real friends like us shouldn't suspect on each other..." James said.

"One thing we have to agree, Sirius... Wormtail easily fooled everybody... He was our friend. Man, I think I even sort of miss him..." Remus said. "I despise Peter Pettigrew. I loathe him, but I miss the wormtail that studied with us, our prank fella..."

"I have to say, even if he tried to kill me and my family, I also miss my friend..." James said, thoughtfully.

"I guess we will have to find a new marauder, then. We are a quartet, and Harry's part of a new generation of marauders, so I think we'll have to find someone new..." Remus said.

"It's not going to be the same, but it may help..." James recognized.

Sirius seemed a bit better, but he was still uncomfortable. "Lily is never going to forgive me. And she will be right to blame me..."

"And who are you to know what I think about all this?"

Everybody stood up fastly, eyes popping, looking at Lily's bed. There she was, in the same position she was before, half sat, half laid, but her emerald eyes opened and a smile upon her face.

"LILY!" James shouted, running to her bed and hugging her. "I'm so glad you're back baby!" he said, holding her strongly.

Soon enough, they separared and shared a long, deep kiss. "Get a room!" Sirius said. James and Lily separated again, and giggled a bit.

"James, darling, where is Harry?" Lily said, her eyes watching James' hazel ones.

"He's here, Lily-flower. I'll get him for you." James stood up and went snatch his son.

Remus quickly hugged Lily and expressed his happiness for her being back. Sirius shared a long, teary hug with her. As soon as she let him go, she snapped. "Don't you dare trying to blame this on yourself, Sirius Black! This is all Voldemort and Pettigrew's fault!" She spat.

"But Lily..." Sirius started, still looking in her eyes.

"Don't! If you say anything about it, I'll hex you big time!" She said, fiercely, but with a small smile.

Sirius finally relaxed a bit and grinned. Then, all the attention turned to Harry, that, as soon as he saw his mother, started shouting "MOMMY, MOMMY", and didn't stop until James put his in Lily's arms. He hugged her strongly as she hugged him back, tears in her eyes.

"Me and Padfoot will go get Dumbledore. We'll be right back." Remus said, already leaving and pulling Sirius by his arm. Reluctantly, he followed his friend.

"Jamsie, how long have I been out? It must have been a long time, as my son is not letting me go..." Lily asked, still holding harry who had his arms around her neck. James chuckled.

"It's been five days, love... Five long days..." James said, looking at his wife's face, as if that was the sun around which his world revolved.

She sighed, looking down. "That long, huh?"

"Yeah..." James said softly, biting his lower lip. "Lily, life, how are you feeling?" he asked, voicing his concerns.

"Utterly worn out... Do you remember the night of the last exam of N.E.W.T.s?" She asked, facing her husband again.

"The day we had the practical exams of Transfiguration, Charms and Defense? Ugh, that was a tough day..." James said.

"Yeah, I feel pretty much the same, as if I hadn't slept enough and had used every spell I know..."

"Yeah, madam Pomfrey said that you seemed to be magically worn out..." James said.

"Well, I feel fine... A bit tired, though, but I still have my power with me..." She said, finally getting Harry off of her neck and taking a good look at him. James smiled.

"I'm happy to know this, Lily, I was very..."

"James, what is this?" Lily suddenly snapped, her voice struggled and desperate.

"What, love?" James said, confusion in his eyes. Lily pointed to Harry's forehead, her finger shaking.

"Oh, Lily..." James said, looking down, his face a frown. "Albus thinks that that's where the killing curse touched our son... I don't understand what happened that night, because the headmaster decided to wait for you to wake up so that we could discuss the whole thing together. But Harry's apparently fine, he has no damage, according to both Poppy and Albus. But the scar is there to stay." He put a hand on his son's forehead. They sat in silence for some minutes before James decided to speak again.

"Lily... I feel terrible for not being there that night... I mean, I should have stayed, I should have protected you, stayed by your said..."

"James, James!" Lily said, to interrupt her husband. "I'm glad you weren't there, love. God knows how happy I am for Dumbledore's decision of letting you get out of that house. What would you have done if you were there?"

James looked at his wife with curiosity in his eyes. "I would have protected you. I'd have fought that stupid monster..."

"That's it, darling... You would have tried to protect me, you would have battled against Voldemort. Would you let him get to me?" Lily asked.

"Of course not!" James said, a hint of outrage in his voice.

"So, what do you think he would have done to you?" Lily asked him, softly.

"He... He would have killed me! And that's how it should have been!" James said, standing up a crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"And how do you think I would have felt, Jamsie?" Lily said.

James turned to stare at her, but didn't say anything.

"That's why I'm so thankful you weren't there... There's no doubt you would have protected me, everybody knows that. But you weren't there, and we didn't die! That's what matters. I wouldn't have it any other way. So, please, don't blame yourself like Sirius, and help me pray thanks to God for saving our whole family, ok?"

James sat in front of his wife again and kissed her. Deep and long, with Harry between them, the way it should be.

The door opened with a loud 'bang!' and Sirius, Remus, Pomfrey, Dumbledore, Mcgonagall and Snape entered the room. Sirius laughed a bit as James and Lily blushed and separated a bit.

"Hey, hey! Stop scaring my godson!" He shouted, happily. He went near the bed and snatched Harry, making the baby pretend he was an airplane, as Harry screamed with laughter. James muttered something that sounded like 'Sirius' and 'pain somewhere'.

Lily was watching the people who had just entered the room. Her gaze finally locked on Snape, as she narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here, Death Eater?" Lily said, her voice full of disgust. "Why would you care visiting the family of a Mudblood?"

Everybody looked shocked at the sudden hatred that had taken over Lily. Pomfrey and Mcgonagall covered their mouths with their hands, and Dumbledore and Remus had a grave look. Sirius was oblivious of it all as he was playing with Harry, but James stood up, his eyes fixed on Snape.

Snape, himself looked calm and bored, but Lily knew better. He had been her first real friend, from the time she was 9 up to their 6th year, when he called her a mudblood. They had spent roughly 5 years not being friends anymore, but Lily still knew him. Even though they hadn't spoken to each other all this time, except when Snape tried to apologize and Lily ignored him, she was able to recognize the pain in his eyes.

"Headmaster, I think it's better if you take... _him... _away." James said, still glaring at Snape's direction.

"No, I will not." Dumbledore said calmly. "It's way past the time you let your childish grudges go." he said sternly. "I trust Severus, and I'm telling you that I know for sure he is on our side now. You have to agree that I'm not easily fooled, so trust me on this."

"You are not a Death Eater anymore?" Lily said, paying total attention to her former friend. Snape simply shooked his head.

"He was the one who told me that Voldemort had chosen Harry over Neville..." Dumbledore intervened.

"Is that real, Snape?" James said. Snape looked at him, his face a frown.

"Yes." He replied.

The whole room was silent. Even baby Harry was quiet in Sirius arms, who had stopped playing with his godson to pay attention to the conversation. Finally, Lily sighed deeply.

"Thank you so much for helping save my family... I knew there is good in you, Sev, even when you became a Death Eater, I still knew..." She said, looking at him. Everybody was looking at her, so nobody but her saw the single tear that rolled from Snape's right eye.

"Now, we have to talk..." Dumbledore said, surprising every one. "Poppy, if you check Lily up, we have many things to discuss, principally what happened that night." Dumbledore said, looking at Lily over his glasses. "And there is a new danger that Severus would like to warn you about as well..."

* * *

**A.N.:** There you are, guys, the third chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I've been a bit busy. I'll probably update on Monday with the 4th chapter, and finally I'll show you what happened during Halloween ad the major plot of this fic. This story will cover Harry's whole childhood, up to the moment when he gets his letter from Hogwarts. Then, I'll start a new fic for his first year. Ah, I only update when I have at least 4k words, that's why it might take a while sometimes. But at least you can expect an adequate chapter when it comes to length.

I'd like to than everybody who favorited and followed the fic, believing in its potential! I hope I can create something that you will enjoy! And I'd like to give a super-special-thanks for **RedRoseMana**,** lilalola**, **Gigi**, **TeamBlack**, **kalinzar** and all the guests, who reviewed the two first chapters. You guys rock, capital R! Your feedback kept me working! Super-special-thanks!

And for every one reading this, please, leave a review to tell me your feelings about the story! They'll be very appreciated! Thanks! ;D

MSupernatural


	4. What happened and what will happen

**Choices**

**Summary:** There's power in all of the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_The whole room was silent. Even baby Harry was quiet in Sirius arms, who had stopped playing with his godson to pay attention to the conversation. Finally, Lily sighed deeply._

_"Thank you so much for helping save my family... I knew there is good in you, Sev, even when you became a Death Eater, I still knew..." She said, looking at him. Everybody was looking at her, so nobody but her saw the single tear that rolled from Snape's right eye._

_"Now, we have to talk..." Dumbledore said, surprising every one. "Poppy, if you check Lily up, we have many things to discuss, principally what happened that night." Dumbledore said, looking at Lily over his glasses. "And there is a new danger that Severus would like to warn you about as well..."_

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey used all her extensive list of spells for examination and finally announced, much for everybody's happiness, that Lily Potter was not only healthy but she didn't need medical care anymore. She informed them that she should have some time to relax, though. Magical exhaustion isn't something that simple, after all.

"Magical exhaustion? Did you actually fought you-know-who, my dear?" Mcgonagall asked, a little shaken, as Pomfrey left the room. Lily opened her mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance to do it.

"I think we should get to know the whole story so we can understand what happened that night, Minerva." Albus said, his eyes still on Lily's face. "If my humble guess is correct, saying that Lily here fought Lord Voldemort would be an understatement." If he saw the flinches caused by the Dark Lord's name, he didn't show.

Lily blushed and kept staring at her hands. She didn't feel prepared to go through all that just yet. James, who knew her better than anyone in the room, noticed her hesitation.

"Why don't we start from the beginning of the night?" James said. Lily looked at him and he winked, which made she faintly smile. "As you all know, we were hidden, and Albus gave us the idea of using the Fidelius charm so we could be better protected. Then we made the stupid mistake of choosing Pettigrew to be the Secret Keeper."

Sirius lowered his gaze to the floor, but Harry put his little hand on his chin, which made him look to his godson and smile a bit. "Are you really a baby? You seem to know everything already..." he whispered.

"So, on Halloween, Albus asked me to go on a mission… As you all know, I like freedom and I missed my friends terribly, so I ended up accepting…" James stopped. Lily felt what he was going to say, so she cut him before he continued.

"I said that it was an excellent idea, and that ended up being the best choice I made that night." She said. Everybody looked at her, surprise evident on their faces. After some seconds of looking at his wife's face, James understood that was a topic for another conversation and continued.

"So, I got the chance to work a bit and see this git I consider a best friend…" He said smiling. The tension in the room broke a little and Remus even smiled.

"What he fails to express is his undying devotion for said git." Sirius said, grinning. "In fact, Lily, I had to turn down quite a few marriage proposals from him, and not all of them were before your wedding…" Everybody but Snape laughed lightly. Some jokes to break the tension were not only important, but essential at times like these, so Sirius' antics were very welcome.

"Ya, so, I met my concubine here and we went on the mission, and, when we were back to Hogwarts, I felt the ward being invaded and went home." James said, looking at Lily. That was her part. She sighed but kept her smile.

"I was trying to make Harry sleep when I felt the ward being invaded. I had left my wand in the basement – Yes, I know I deserve some scolding, principally from Moody." She started. Some people half smiled, but nobody laughed. That was too serious to be laughed about. Lily sighed again before continuing.

"I tried to escape, but he made it impossible to apparate or portus, so I was stuck inside Harry's nursery." The tension was back, full force. Minerva had one hand covering her mouth, and Sirius and Remus were staring at the floor. A knot appeared in her throat, and Lily didn't know if she could continue, but when James put his hand on her shoulder, she found some strength to go on.

"He finally entered the house and discovered where we were. I didn't know what to do. But then I-I remembered a book I r-read last w-week." Lily started to sob softly, tears running freely on her face. James' hand gripped her shoulder with more strength and she continued. "I started to perform a Light Sacrifice Ritual. One that would protect a person who the sacrificed loved…"

"Wait… Are there any sacrifice rituals for the Light?" Sirius asked. He had to learn sacrifice rituals when he was a child because of his family, but everything was so dark that even his family was a bit reluctant to comment about it. Now, light wizards using sacrifice?

"What is the concept of Light and Dark that you have?" Albus asked. Minerva smiled. This reminded her of the time when Albus was her teacher. He always made a question before answering another.

Nobody was surprised when Remus answered. He had been the best student of the year, after all. "Light magic is free of imposition. It is much more related to will and the idea of not interfering with others. Dark is the opposite. It is based on power, reaching one's objective with all the means possible."

"Very accurate, Remus." Dumbledore said, smiling. "I would give Gryffindor 10 points if you still were a student." Again, everybody but Snape smiled. "That's the simple difference. I have to warn you, though, that the difference between Light and Dark is much more complex, and it's much easier for a wizard to perform Neutral magic instead of one purely Light or Dark. But if we consider the two extremes, it is easier to perform pure Dark magic. It is very difficult to do something without interfering with another person's will." The headmaster looked around with a small smile.

"Okay, but can sacrifice not be considered interfering with another person? If you're killing them?" Snape asked, standing beside the closed door. He had stayed there since he closed it after Pomfrey's departure.

"You may be thinking about sacrifice as something forced." Dumbledore said, looking at him. "But what if the person actually wants you to perform the sacrifice? What if the person, say…" Albus turned to face Lily who was still lying on the bed. "…decides to sacrifice herself?"

There was a huge gawking sound when everybody understood what Dumbledore meant. Before any comment was made, the old teacher continued.

"The problem about Light rituals, and I cannot make you understand how much, principally Light sacrifice rituals, is how volatile Light in fact is. If the person had but a slight hesitance, the ritual wouldn't work. For example, if the person wasn't really willing to give their life, it would became an affront to their will, thus turning the ritual Dark, as killing is something naturally bad. I assume you knew that, my dear?" Albus said, still staring at Lily.

"I did, headmaster." She said. She kept her attention to him, afraid of everybody else's opinions. "I was fully aware I was going to die to save Harry, and I've never been so sure of one thing: I would die to save him." Albus nodded, as she sighed. "When I finished the ritual, on my mind, of course, so Voldemort wouldn't interfere, I had to focus on a happy memory: It works similar to a patronus, but to protect Harry instead of me. So I imagined him with his father, grown up, happy, here at Hogwarts..." She smiled, remembering the perfect image. She was completely sure that would be what she would see in an Erised mirror.

Albus laughed a bit. "Then, I guess Light showed its own ability to work the way it wants. You see, that's why I always said Light is stronger than Dark. Dark is power, yes, but Light… Light is strong as Dark could never be… I hope we can one day understand what happened. Instead of saving little Harry, Lily's love ended up saving her whole family. Including her, if I may add. It seems that Love ended up being more than enough to complete the ritual. What I don't understand, though, is… where is the sacrifice? The Light would require a sacrifice, even if a not willing one, which means someone would have to die there. You see, the protection happened, but somebody had to die. Fate, if you believe in destiny, had to take somebody, but it would not take its protégées, Lily and Harry, and Lord Voldemort for sure was killed by the rebounding of his own killing curse… Well, a mystery I can only hope to see solved…" He laughed a bit more and lost himself in his own thoughts.

Lily was still staring at her former headmaster. She was so scared of the others' reactions that she wanted to stand up and run, screaming. Suddenly, she felt a drop on her hand, and she tilted her head fast to look at her husband.

Her heart shrunk when she saw he was crying. But it swelled when she saw he was smiling. He nearly jumped on her on a watery hug, when he finally lost all control and started crying loudly, sobbing and shaking his whole body. What surprised her the most was that his weren't the only sobs or cries she could hear. Looking around the room, she saw that Remus was quietly crying and sobbing. Severus looked paler than she had ever seen, his eyes filled with tears. When he noticed she was looking at him, he hid his face in his hands and turned his back to her, but she could see he was shaking a bit, clear sign of deep sobs.

Dumbledore had tears in his eyes, but he was smiling and Lily already knew that, as she had been watching him for the last moments. What really shocked her was when she noticed Sirius and Minerva, both crying almost as loud as James, and that meant something, holding each other in a strong hug.

Ironically, Harry was the only one who was not crying, as Lily herself was crying lightly as well. He was sat on the armchair where his godfather had put him, looking at Sirius and Minerva, face a frown. Lily made a mental note: she needed to scold Sirius for putting her baby on such a high place. What if he fell?

Harry must have sensed that his mother was looking at his, as he turned his little face towards her, and gave her a toothy smile, stretching his little arms and screaming: "MOMMY!"

This snapped everybody out of the crying commotion. Albus' eyes went back to focus, Remus and Snape calmed themselves down, looking around suspiciously, trying to pretend everything was ok and they hadn't cried. Sirius and Minerva let each other go, clearing their own throats and blushing furiously, cleaning their faces with their hands. James stopped sobbing, but kept his hold on Lily.

Remus got Harry and brought him to Lily. As soon as the baby was put on the bed, he put one of his little arms around his father's neck, and the other around Lily's. That way they stayed, until Lily ended up sleeping, still because of the exhaustion caused by the ritual.

This time, everything seemed to be well.

* * *

Lily woke up and looked around. James was sleeping besides her and the bed had been augmented so that both of them fit. Harry was in his crib. She looked outside through the window above her bed and saw that the sun was starting to rise, which meant she had slept quite a lot, because she reckoned the conversation hadn't been long enough to go too much into the night.

Lily was extremely happy with the result of the whole conversation the night before. She was scared of her friends not understanding her decision of sacrificing herself for Harry, and she was even more afraid of the possible discussion: Yes, she would do it again. But in the end, everybody seemed to accept her decision, even though she slept before actually listening to their opinions.

She got her wand and finally stood up, after almost one week on the same position on the bed. Surprisingly James didn't wake up. Lily didn't wake up so easily, but James needed nothing more than a small touch to jump awake.

Her whole body was sore, as if she had run a thousand miles, but she knew it was not something physical. She slowly went to Harry's crib and watched her baby sleeping. She paid more attention to the scar. Her heart ached. Does that mean that her baby would have died before her, if the ritual hadn't worked? She felt her whole body shake because of that terrifying thought.

She saw Harry's plush toys on the floor, in the center of the room, between the armchairs. She calmed herself down and whispered 'Accio', pointing her wand at the toys. They jumped to her direction and stopped by her feet, but the pain she felt through her entire body was so strong that she gasped a bit too loud. James' head rose.

"Lily, love, is everything alright?" He said, not loud enough to wake the baby up.

She nodded, incapable of speaking. So that was the feeling of being magically worn out? "It's just… I tried to use magic, but my whole body ached…" She said, as James stood up.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry, but you can't use magic for a few days…" He said, enveloping her waist with his arms. He gave her a small peck on her lips and looked back at her, trying to ease her discomfort.

"Magical exhaustion is something dangerous. My father told me that one of his uncles almost died because of magical exhaustion. He went on a coma for about a month before coming to his senses. Apparently, he had to wait for another month before he could use magic again. Ironically, he died a week later because of a spell that went wrong." They both giggled.

A tiny weeping came from the crib. When the adults looked inside, Harry was waking up. James got him and took him to the sofa, where the three Potters spend some time playing with Harry's toys.

Not too long after, someone knocked on the door. Sirius, Remus and Albus entered and seemed surprised to see the three already up.

"Well, it's good to see you are awake." Dumbledore said. "I've been thinking about James' request, and I think it might be fine to let you have breakfast in the Great Hall. After all, you are safe here at Hogwarts…" The marauders cheered "…but then, I need you to come back here, because not everything that has to be discussed was brought up last evening, and I sadly have some bad news to share with you."

Apprehensive looks took over their faces. Bad news from Dumbledore always meant something terrible: Either someone died or someone would die. Dumbledore smiled.

"Ah, don't worry about it just now. Have breakfast, and enjoy your morning together. We'll discuss our… predicament after breakfast."

Not as happy as they would like, the four adults and Harry the baby went to the Great Hall, following the Headmaster who was way ahead.

* * *

If they had something to worry about, it was soon forgotten, as they entered the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling, hundreds of students talking excitedly, the flags from each house over their tables… Hogwarts never stopped amusing those who entered it.

The marauders and Lily had been students there for 7 years. For 7 years they entered that same room to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. But just entering that room again, about 4 years after the last time, meant something different entirely.

They were basically speechless. And apparently, so were the students, when they saw those four adults and a baby entering the Great Hall. Of course they had some visitors sporadically, but those were famous people.

The attack of the Potters was meant to be a secret. Thus, evidently, everybody knew about it already. The first three days after Halloween, news changed in a matter of minutes. First, all the Potters had died. Then, Harry Potter, the baby of 1 year and three months, was the only survivor. Then, there hadn't been any attacks. Then, the Potters were all Death Eaters and had been attacked by some secret anti-Dark Lord organization.

But finally, the truth was spread. The Potters were much alive, thank you, and there was no sign of where the Dark Lord was. The Potters were hidden, of course, but the fact that Voldemort was M.I.A….

The Potters were loved and hated at the same rate. Some said they were good people that somehow had destroyed the darkest wizard ever to exist. Others said that, in fact, the Potters killed Voldemort and soon they would announce themselves as the next Dark Lords. And there were a few people who said the whole story was nothing but a scheme created by the Ministry.

Knowing all this, Dumbledore decided that they must stay inside Hogwarts, hidden, so as not to be attack again, either by fans or enemies. But lately, the last 24 hours, to be exact, the truth had been somehow discovered and the initial havoc finally started to cease.

But the moment the Potters entered the Great Hall, every single student turned to watch them. The ones who didn't realize at first were quickly nudged and properly told.

Silence was absolute, James even saw some students standing up to take a better look at those people.

Then, someone clapped. Once. And not so strongly, it must be said, but clapped. And soon some other people started clapping, but these didn't stop. And finally the whole room was clapping, which eventually turned into a standing ovation. Almost all Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students clapped anxiously. Even some Slytherin politely joined.

Lily and Remus blushed so furiously they soon were puce, dumbfounded by the scene. James and Sirius smiled largely and bowed. Harry, on his mother's lap, happily started clapping his little hands, laughing.

The teachers, of course, started clapping as well, even though the shock was visible on their expressions. Dumbledore seemed happily surprised, clapping a bit himself.

"Let's go!" Sirius said, mostly to Lily and Remus, who seemed to have lost the ability to walk. James and Sirius had basically to drag them all the way through to the staff table, where four seats and a baby's chair had been previously arranged. Initially, James and Sirius asked to sit with the Gryffindors, but Dumbledore didn't approve.

As soon as everybody was sat, and the students had stopped clapping, Dumbledore stood.

"I would like to personally thank you all for this warm reception. And I'm happy to see that you seemed to recognize correctly who these people are." He said. "These are the Potters. You may have heard all sorts of stories about what happened on Halloween. Some of them are so far-fetched that I would suggest the inventor to write a book, with all that imagination. But one or two of the stories were so accurate that they impressed, not to say terrified, me." He said. The Great Hall was so silent that even the students' breath could be heard. They were eagerly listening to all the words the headmaster said.

"The truth is… On Halloween, the Potters were attacked. They were attacked by nobody other than Lord Voldemort himself." All the students, and even some teachers, flinched. "But, demonstrating a Power that the Dark Lord knows not, they could finally defeat him. I should warn you, though, that he might not be gone forever, no. But he's gone for now, and this is surely something to commemorate. But the most important…" Dumbledore bowed his head a bit, so he could watch the whole room over his glasses. "…is that the power Lord Voldemort couldn't conquer, was none other than Love."

The whole place erupted in new applauses. And then, they finally ate.

* * *

Not so long after, the Potters, Remus and Sirius were back to the room next to the Hospital Wing. They were happier than when they left.

"Did you see everybody clapping?" James said, excitedly.

"What? And the standing ovation? That was, like a dream!" Sirius said, bouncing a bit, euphoric.

"More like a nightmare to me…" Lily said, smiling. She and Remus weren't so fond of attention, so the whole thing had actually been difficult for them.

"Ah, guys, that was… AWESOME!" Sirius and James laughed high fiving. Harry giggled on his mother's arm.

They sat on the armchairs in the center of the room, and James transfigured the small chair beside Lily's bed in a big, blue chintz armchair, putting it next to the others, so Lily could join them. Minutes after, Dumbledore entered the room. He quickly locked the door and conjured another armchair for himself, between Lily and Remus.

The headmaster sat. "I may assume you have questions you want me to answer?'

The room got completely silent for a while. "So… He is dead?" Lily finally said, softly.

"Well, he was destroyed that night, I'm quite sure of it… I myself saw the robes he wore next to Harry's crib… But if he's dead, I don't know. I'm not sure if there is… humanity enough in him for Voldemort to simply die…" Albus answered.

Silence installed again. They looked at each other, wondering who would be the next to say something.

"Does that mean we don't need to keep hiding?" James said, after a while. Lily looked at him. She wanted to ask Albus the same thing, but she just didn't have the guts to actually do it.

Albus Dumbledore sighed deeply, all excitment from earlier gone. Suddenly, everybody in the room knew that not everything was alright, principally because that was the expression Albus wore every time he had something bad to tell the Order of the Phoenix. James reached for Lily's hand and held it lightly.

"Before breakfast, I wanted to tell you something that I was supposed to tell you last night. It's something only few people know. In fact, only me, Kingsley and Alastor, not to mention the people envolved, know." Albus started, tiredly.

"I hope you understand that we didn't want to keep this from you four as a secret, but we decided that things would be easier if you heard this together." he continued. Everybody seemed to understand the gravity of this information. Even baby Harry was silent, playing with his toys, occasionally looking at his parents or the other men. "The day after the attack, there has been another... let's say, event. It was a Sunday night, so everybody was at home, which ended up helping to make this all a big secret."

"You know very well that the prophecy could have been about Neville Longbottom as well, right? But I had already informed you, as soon as Severus told me about Voldemort's decision, that he had chosen Harry. Well, the Longbottoms were hiding, nonetheless. But when you were settled at Hogwarts, and as I knew that Voldemort was gone, we decided that Alice and Frank deserved going home. We informed them, but their house was attacked..."

"NO! NOT ALICE! No, no, no, no, please, not Alice..." Lily started to cry, shielding her face with her hands. The men were pale and didn't know what to say, so James sat on the arm of the armchair and hugged his wife, putting her head on his chest, and his chin on her hair.

"Alice didn't die, Lily!" Albus said, gravely. She tried to control herself, but her tears kept on coming. "She and Frank had decided to come visit you that night, so they left Augusta with Neville, and came to Hogwarts. The Death Eaters attacked their house. You know Augusta, she killed two of them and probably hurt the other two very much..." James and Sirius cheered. "... but they ended up killing her."

Silence.

"D-did... D-d-did they k-kill poor Neville?" Remus stuttered.

"No, they didn't. Augusta performed a strong defensive spell to lock baby Neville in his nursery. Of course they could have broken the spell, but that would take a long time, and I think that wasn't their objective." Albus replied. Everybody exhaled. "No, what they wanted to do was send a message. Alice and Frank had just arrived when they felt the invasion, pretty much the same way you did." He said, looking at Lily and James. "Then went home, and I called Kingsley and Alastor. They met in front of the house. Two Death eathers were dead in front of the house..."

"Who?" Sirius asked.

"Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange."

"My cousin's husband and brother-in-law..." Sirius said, thoughtful. Albus nodded, but didn't wait for him to continue.

"Two other two Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr. - Yes, the son of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was a Death Eater - managed to get inside. Mr. Crouch was severely wounded and thus left behind. Bellatrix lost three fingers and apparently some teeth, but she killed Augusta..."

"Poor Augusta... She was an excellent woman. Severe, but good in her heart." Remus said.

"And to imagine that we saw her less than 24 hours before her death..." James said, looking at Sirius.

"Well, at least she took parts of that bitch-hag that is my cousin..." Sirius said with a smile.

"Sirius! We have little ears around!" Lily said, frowning.

"Sorry, Lily, love..." He said, still smiling. "That witch whose job it is to please men." James, Lily and Remus laughed a bit, but Albus kept on serious. Shortly after, he continued talking.

"This is not the point. The reason why I wanted to talk to you about this is what Alastor, Kingsley, Alice and Frank found when they entered the lobby. There was a message on the wall. 'This is not the end. He will rise to his full power eventually. And Harry Potter will be dead. And so will be his family.' That was written on Augusta's blood."

Everybody gasped. "That's... That's just cruel!" Lily cried, covering her mouth with one hand.

"No, Lily... That's not the problem..." Sirius said. Everybody, even Harry, looked at him. He was paler than normal, also convering his mouth with one hand. His eyes were wide in horror.

"Ah, I knew your family would have forced you to study this." Albus said. Even though his words could have been taken as joke, his voice was full of sorrow.

"What does that mean, Sirius?" James said, shaking. Anything from the Black family would be terrible.

"It's a dark ritual... A vow of some sort... She's crazy!" Sirius said, angrily. "That means she will have to kill you, me, Lily and Harry, or we will have to kill her!"

"WHAT?" James screamed, standing up. "HOW? What happens if we don't kill her, or she doesn't kill us?"

"The ritual will be performed. And we all might die." Sirius said, staring at the floor. James put his hands on his and and lily stood and hugged him.

"How long?" He finally said. "How long do we have to kill her?"

"The thing is, we don't know." Albus intervened. "The time limit she set was 'He will rise to his full power eventually', so we need to kill her before Voldemort rises to full power."

"But that means that, if she doesn't kill all of us, she will not see her master rise, right?" Remus said

"No, because she holds the magical contract. She can undo it by killing one of the people from Augusta's blood family, that is, her brother Algie, her son Frank or her grandson Neville." Sirius said. "She'll then have to write the cancellation using this person's blood."

Everybody was shocked. The whole thing was terrible. Just when they thought everything would get better!

"You see why we have to keep fighting, right?" Albus continued. "The Order will have to continue and our priority now is to kill Bellatrix. But Harry will have to be safe, as well as Neville."

* * *

On the other morning, Lily was discharged. She could perform simple magic without feeling anything but a slight discomfort, but that would go away soon. She and James packed everything and then they noticed that they didn't have anything. They would have to start from zero again, because they didn't want to go back to Godric's Hollow.

"Do you have any idea of where you are going to live?" Remus asked. Lily and James looked at each other. They hadn't thought about it yet, but that was the time. All the four were standing in the middle of the room which they had used.

"You can live with me, in my apartment." Sirius said. He had a lovely, but very small apartment, a small kitchen, a smaller living room, a tiny bedroom and a bathroom that, according to Sirius, you could 'do business' taking a shower. It was only one street away from the Leaky Cauldron, though. "I could take the couch, you can have the bedroom, but Harry would have to sleep with you..."

"Thank you so much, Padfoot, but..." James bit his lower lip. "I just don't think there's... space enough from everybody, mate..." Sirius nodded, and then smiled.

"I know. I just offered because I'd love to live you guys..."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a house to offer to you..." Remus intervened, looking at the floor. "I lived in my parents' house, but I sold it so I could follow the other werewolves. I rented a room in Hogsmeade."

"I'm afraid of it, but you could use Grimmaud Place." Siriu said, carefully.

"No, thank you, Sirius." Lily said firmly. "I don't think I'd feel safe, Bellatrix knows where it is."

"But I can command the wards not to let her in..." He started.

"I appreciate it, Sirius. We do. But no, thank you.'' she said.

James looked down. There was only one more option. And he wouldn't like it, of course. "There's Potter Manor." He said, still staring at the floor.

Everybody gasped. When James' parents died, he locked Potter Manor and promised himself he'd never step inside of it again. Sirius, Lily and Remus knew it very well, the house was too full of good memories, but James couldn't live with the pain of not being able to see or talk to his parents. He decided to start from zero. He had the money his parents gave him, a small fortune, and he got a paycheck as an auror, which gave him enough not to use any of his initial wealth, and even save some for Harry's future.

Everything he inherited from his parents, including the keys of the manor, was locked inside their vault in Gringotts, which hadn't been opened since the day when the goblins put everything inside. The only contact James had with his past was went his parents elves come to him so he could check on them.

"No, James, we can find another solution..." Lily said.

"No, Lily. It's been 3 years. I need to overcome their loss. And the house is prepared, there's a nursery next to the Master Bedroom, and Blinx and Gally will be able to help us." He said.

"But dear..." Lily started.

"Don't, Lily!" He said closing his eyes. She stopped speaking. "There's no other way, love. I wish there was, but... there isn't. And if you, Padfoot and Moony help me, I'm sure we can do this!"

"Of course we'll be there for you, buddy..." Remus said.

"You're my brother, James." Sirius said. "They were the only real parents I had, and I have an idea of what you're feeling. So I'll be there for you. Count me in!"

Lily just hugged him. He sighed and got Harry. Remus got one of their bags and Sirius the other. They walked out of Hogwarts, facing the horizon, facing a new future.

A new, but not so bright one.

* * *

**A.N.:** There you have! The biggest chapter so far... I know it's not reeeally big, but I wanted to start answering all your questions! If you know HP well enough, you might be able to understand what happened so Lily would live. And I just presented the main plot of this fic, as it goes only up to the moment when Harry receives his letter from Hogwarts. Then, I intend to start a new one, for his first year.

The next chapter will present the Potter manor, but I intend to move on with the story, maybe 'till Harry's second or third birthday, I'm still planning. I hope you liked my explanation on how Lily survived, even if it's obviously not complete. And if you want to guess what happened that night, you can PM and I'll tell you if you're correct or not. But of course that will spoil the end. Heehee.

Thank you for everybody who read this so far! I know it's too early to say if this is any good, but I've received a lot of people following the story, so thank you for believing in it! I'm not a review addict, but I like to have feedback, so I can improve my story. If you have any suggestions, questions, anything, please, 'review' it, or send me a PM. I'll be forever thankful!

And also, I'm still trying to find a beta, so excuse any mistakes. I'm reading it again and again, and trying to find these little problems and solve them. Ah, this week, my routine goes back to normal, so I'll have less time to write. But I promise I'll try to update at least once a week.

I hope you enjoy it! ;D

MSupernatural


	5. The two families

******Choices**

**Summary:** There's power in all of the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

**Disclaimer:**Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_Lily just hugged him. He sighed and got Harry. Remus got one of their bags and Sirius the other. They walked out of Hogwarts, facing the horizon, facing a new future._

_A new, but not so bright one._

* * *

The Potter manor was somewhere near a great beach, but James wasn't good enough at geography so that he would know exactly where it was. And the fact that it was unplottable didn't help either, of course. But what he did know was that it was close to a cozy small muggle village, and it was one of the oldest wizarding family manors in Great Britain.

The protective wards were ancient, but still have powerful. In fact, as far as James knew, few additions were made in the last few decades, and that meant something.

They arrived there soon after noon. James, Lily, Harry and Sirius had gone to the Gringotts to retrieve the keys of the house, but that ended up taking longer than expected, as the goblins weren't very happy to open the vault that James said he wouldn't open anymore. It took them the whole morning to prove to the goblins that, no, James wasn't another person in disguise, yes, they understood that, if he said it would be closed, it should be closed, and no, James didn't thing goblins were short clowns.

They weren't in the best of the moods, but James knew the black cloud over their heads was solely his. The only problem was that he couldn't ignore the invisible hand that was crushing his heart. They had just entered the big lobby, but memories were already flooding his mind.

It was warm and large. The whole decoration was red and yellow, and it was this way since James could remember. His parents were very proud of the Potter family, so they had little interest in changing the original characteristics of the manor. Some few additions were made, of course, but nothing that erased the air of antiquity in it.

The floor of the house was made of wood and the walls were made of white stone, but the decoration reinforced the high standard of the house: Paintings by famous wizard artists, carpets and flags (Including Gryffindor's as well). Standing on the Lobby, they could see the two main stairs, one each side, took people to the same place, the corridor of guest rooms. That was not the last floor, as on the end of the right side of the corrider there was a set of stone stairs that took people to the other two levels.

To the right, there was the huge living room that had doors for both the library and the study room. To the left, there was the dining room, next to the enormous kitchen.

Lily's awe never ceased. She knew James' family was rich. Well, she even knew she was rich because of him, but the fact that James never dealt with his former wealth sometimes made her forget about it completely. She was still dumbfounded when Sirius finally spoke.

"Hem-hem... Er... Guys, why don't we go upstairs and... well, try to settle in?" he said.

James simply sighed and got the suitcase with the things they had, and started going upstairs. Lily and Sirius exchanged looks. Both of them knew that it wasn't time to deal with him, so they followed him to the last store, which was basically two rooms with bathrooms and a corridor that ended up in a door which was the stairs to the entrance of the attic.

James entered the master suite, the room that he and Lily would stay, while Lily took Harry, who was fast asleep, to the nursery. Sirius went back to the guest rooms. Lily was impressed by the cleanliness of the house. She knew the elves were hard-working, but she shivered just imagining the amount of work it would take to clean the whole manor.

The nursery was big. Big enough for it to be larger than the living room from Godric's Hollow. There was a golden crib, large enough for an adult to use it as bed, a set of chests of drawers, all of them empty, except for a few very old baby clothes that belonged to James, a changing table, two armchairs and a fireplace.

Lily checked the crib and saw it was completely dust free, so she laid Harry in it and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She than turned to the door she knew it would take her to the master bedroom.

The master bedroom was something else entirely. A huge bed, big enough for five people, comfortably, a sofa and armchairs, a fireplace and, incredible enough, a small fridge (Lily knew it was Harold Potter's deed. He hated going all the way to the kitchen to grab a bite, but he hated asking the elves to get food for him even more).

James was sat on the end of the bed. His eyes were red, his gaze was somewhere but not really there and his hand were helplessly on his lap. He was so... hurt, that Lily felt like hugging him and never letting go. Actually, if she weren't already madly in love with him, she would probably have fell for him.

She got to the middle of the room and sat beside him, looking at his face. A slight movement to her direction showed her he knew she was there, but he kept silent. She put her arm on his shoulders and he rested his head on the curve of her neck. And this way they stayed for a while.

* * *

Sirius remembered the Potter manor very fondly: that was probably the first place he felt at home. Hogwarts was cozy and inviting, and he loved it, but it was never Home. And of course, Grimmaud Place, even when his parents didn't loathe him too much, was terrifying at best.

But the Potter manor was so home-like, and Sirius had been so well received that he felt this was the place he thought about when somebody mentioned 'home'. He could easily remember the Potters around, laughing, playing, having fun with him and James. Of course Remus and Peter came to visit, but James and Sirius were regulars.

Sirius quickly visited the room besides James' old room that was prepared solely for him. It was as big as the rest of the other rooms of the house, and Sirius loved it. Just this bedroom alone was bigger than his apartment. He still found some stuff he left behind when he moved to his apartment, mostly prank stuff that were too big for his tiny flat.

He stood there for a while, drowning in happy memories, when he heard someone entering the room. His auror instincts made him grab his wand and turn fast, ready to hex the person at the first attempt of attack. But, instead of a person, there was a wide-eyed house elf. Her eyes were gray, and she wore a small but very clean white top and a pink skirt. She was Blinx.

"M-m-mr. Padfoot?" She managed to stutter. Sirius smiled. The marauders had taught the elves to call them the nicknames.

"Blinx! It's so good to see you again!" He said, getting to her and giving her a hug. Normally, Sirius didn't like this kind of proximity, even with people, but Blinx was another case. She adored Sirius. James would said that she had a crush on him, only to be reinforced by the fact that Gally, the elf's husband, seemed to be very jealous of him.

She giggled, if elves could do that, and got out of his hug. "What are you doing here, mister?" She asked, her eyes bright with glee.

"Well, Blinx, I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but..." He started.

"What are you doing here?" Came a voice from outside the room. Sirius moved his head a little so he could see outside the room and saw that Gally was there. His eyes were completely black and he always wore a marron T-shirt with the name 'Potter' on it, and red shorts. His face was closed in a frown.

"Gally, you old cat, how have you been?" Sirius asked, animated. Gally could act like he hated him, but in fact he didn't. Sirius and the elf had a much like, love-hate relationship, but if things got serious, the stopped the acting and showed people that they actually got along very well. Sirius loved the elf, he was witty, and even knew how to be rude, if necessary. Sirius didn't push him into it, though, because the elf always spanked himself after it, and if there were two elves Sirius didn't want to see suffer, they were Blinx and Gally.

"Gally! How can you be so rude to Mr. Padfoot?" Blinx asked, indignant, her little hands on her waist, face a frown.

"Because Mr. Padfoot should be gone never to come back!" The elf said. But he was smiling, and it was obvious he didn't mean it. Blinx just shook her head and left the room. Sirius smiled warmly to the elf. The elf's smile got bigger, showing some of his bright teeth.

"It's good to see you sir. But Mr. Padfoot shouldn't say this to Blinx, or Gally will lie and say that he never said it!" Gally said, as Sirius got out of the bedroom and into the corridor. Sirius laughed a bit.

"It's a deal, Gally." He said, still giggling. But then, he stopped laughing. "Gally, listen... Have you seen Prongs?"

"Gally hasn't seen Mr. Prongs since the... funeral" Gally said. The Potters were so loved that even the elves suffered because of their loss.

"Yeah, I imagined so." Blinx was the one that went for James to discuss the things from the manor afterwards. "But listen up. James and Lily and little Harry are going to live here for a while, okay, Gally?"

"Gally thought Mr. Prongs hated here!" He said, his eyes wide.

"He doesn't hate it, Gally... But the memories... Are probably too painful for him for now, do you understand?" Sirius said, calmly.

The elf lowered his head. "Yes, Gally understand." he said. "It's good to have Potter family back, sir. Gally prefer working for people, sir, not for paintings."

"What do you mean for paintings?" Sirius asked, curiously.

"Gally's old masters paintings, sir." Gally said, proudly.

"Gally... Are there any paintings of... James' parents?" Sirius asked.

"No, sir. Mr. Prongs has to produce the magic, sir." Gally answered.

"Hum..." Sirius thought for a while. "Gally, do you have any idea how I can discover how to prepare the painting myself?"

"Mr. Padfoot can read the book, sir. The Potter book. Gally saw Mr. Potter reading the book when he created his father's painting sir."

"Can you show me where it is, my old friend?"

And thus, they left for the library.

* * *

After some time hugging each other, James and Lily finally parted ways. James had some tears in his eyes, but he kept his composure. Finally, he spoke, his voice rough.

"It's so hard, Lily..." he said. "I love them so much, I wish I could just talk to them again, I could tell them how much I love them, and that I'm sorry for everything I did that hurt them... That they were the best parents I could have wished for..."

Lily looked at her heartbroken husband. It was difficult for her to see him in that situation, but she knew what he was feeling. She lost her parents too, after all.

"Baby, I know what you are saying, and believe me, I know what you're feeling." She said. She reached his hand and held it on his lap. "When my parents died, I felt the same way... It hurt me to know they were gone... But what kept me moving on was the fact that I had started dating you, and you were fantastic. Always there for me. And I'm here for you too, you know?"

"Yes, dear, and that's what made me hang on. I think that if I didn't have you and Harry and Padfoot and Moony, I-I... I would have lost it." James said.

Lily knew her situation wasn't that similar to James'. Lily's parents got sick, both of them together, the same disease, and everybody knew they would end up dying. But because of this, she had had time to thank them for everything, and properly say goodbye.

James' parents, on the other hand, died because of the war. Both of them were Ministry workers: His father an auror, just like James himself, and his mother was an unspeakable. They were attacked and died in action just a year after their graduation.

"Love... Keep in mind that they always loved you. That means I'm sure they didn't remember anything bad you did. And you know it's true. How long do you manage to continue angry when Harry wakes you up by pulling your hair?" James smiled. "Or for how long did you care when Harry set fire on your quaffle with my wand?" James laughed.

"You know, that's your fault!" He said smiling. "If you hadn't let him grab it, he wouldn't have done it." He laughed a bit more.

"Okay, okay, let's forget this then." She said, also smiling. "The point is, they didn't care what you did, as long as you came for them if you needed help... Jamsie, I've seen you telling them you loved them more than I can remember! Surely more times then I told my parents I love them!"

James kept smiling, staring at the floor. Suddenly, they heard a cry coming from the other room. Lily sighed.

"Well, it seems his nap time is over." She said, looking at James. "Are you going to be okay, Jamsie?"

"I will, love... I guess I'll get used to it, eventually. And it doesn't hurt that much anymore... As long as you're here, I'll be fine..." He said, turning to her and kissing her softly.

"Will do." She said giggling. Then, she left for Harry. James continued sat on the bed. He sighed deeply and stood up. It was time to grow up and let go.

* * *

After the initial shock, the first day at the Potter manor couldn't have been better. James talked to the elves who were thrilled to have him back. Then, he took Harry for a tour around the house. He showed the baby all the interesting rooms, including his old bedroom. He also talked to Harry about some rooms he wasn't supposed to go: the dungeons, the attic, Harry's grandfather's office on the second floor, and the room at the end of the corridor of the third floor. Of course James understood Harry didn't understand anything, but he wasn't worried. He himself locked his father's office, the boy was too little to open the doors to the stairs of the dungeons and the attic, and, as far as he could say, the door on the third floor was locked in such a way it would never open. (He and Sirius tried, of course, but they didn't manage to open it.)

Lily went to the dungeons to check on the stock of potions material. Before going into hiding, she had agreed to replace her old Potions professor, Slughorn. As she couldn't, she didn't know what Dumbledore decided, but she wasn't interested in the position anymore, as she didn't want to stay far from Harry, and James would probably go back to the auror program.

Sirius stayed in the library the whole day. When he finally left, it was dinner time already. He arrived in the dining room looking tired, but happy.

"Hello, family!" He said, opening his arms.

"Pafoo!" Harry screamed with joy from his baby's chair, smiling and clapping his little hands.

"Padfoot, what were you doing in the library the whole day?" Lily asked, looking at him with curiosity.

"I saw lots of interesting books there..." He said smiling and sitting in from of her. James was sat on the head of the table, as now he was the family's master.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Padfoot!" he said, pouting. Lily and Sirius laughed, and then she slapped her husband's arm.

"He's finally growing up, James, don't say anything!" She said smiling.

"So this is how it feels, to grow up?" Sirius said, jokingly thinking. "Well, it sucks, I got really bored at some point." Everybody laughed and they started to eat.

Little did they know that, no as far away as they would like, there was another family having dinner. But this dinner wasn't nearly as happy as theirs.

* * *

Bellatrix Lestrange didn't suffer. She didn't feel pain. She was above all this mundane feelings that she knew would bring nothing but weakness to herself. And so, she expressed her... grief for losing her husband, her brother-in-law and principally her Master as anger. And desire for revenge, of course.

How could those filthy blood traitors, and bugs under her shoe, those miserable garbage pieces DARE to try and take her Lord down? Oh, she knew this was only momentary. But still, having to wait...

"Bella, would you like more potatoes?" Narcisa asked, snapping her sister out of her own thoughts, and bringing her back to the Malfoy Manor. They were having dinner, and, as Bellatrix looked around and saw everybody who was there. All of them the Dark Lord's servants: Lucius Malfoy on the head of the table, her sister Cissy across from her, Mulciber, Macnair, and some others she didn't even care about. And between his parents sat Draco. Another stupid baby, on his little baby chair, his little arms and little legs moving around.

Bellatrix was never fond of babies, of course. Helpless, little brats, all of them. Crying all the time, taking her attention away from what really was important. And now, because of another filthy dirty-bummed mudblood, her dearest Lord was gone.

"No, I don't want." Bellatrix said, her eyes sparkling, still staring at Draco's direction. Narcisa, sensing the danger, got Draco on her arms. Bellatrix, of course, noticed this. She smirked in her sister's direction, now looking deep into her eyes.

"What's up, Cissy?" She said, with a hoarse voice, sounding like a maniac. "Do you fear I would do something to your son? To my beloved nephew?" Her smirk widened, as her eyes did also. "You know I love him. And you, don't you, Cissy? We are family, so we love each other, right, sis?"

Narcisa just stared, poker faced. No, she didn't, she feared her sister. She always had some hesitation when it came to Bellatrix. Hell, everybody did! And principally now that Bellatrix had lost both her husband and her lord? She was psychotic.

"Of course I trust you. And I love you." Her eyes were emotionless. "But I think Draco ate enough. I don't want him to get fat. I'll take him to bed." She then stood up and left. Bellatrix nostrils widened and her smirk fell to some face that made her look as if she were showing her teeth.

"This tastes like crap!" She shouted, throwing the dish to the wall. She then turned to her brother-in-law. "Lucius, would you mind lending me one of your elves?"

"Of course, Bellatrix. Can I ask you what for, so I can get a good one for you?" He said, his face serene.

"Vent some anger." She said, her mischievous grin back. Lucius smiled as well.

"Very well then..." he said. "Dobby!"

A house elf wearing nothing but a very dirty pillowcase appeared with a somewhat loud pop, on the side of Lucius' chair. His eyes were round and frightening, but his expression was full of fear.

"S-s-sir?" He asked, a voice a squeak. It couldn't be old, probably had just started working.

"Go with Bellatrix, and do everything she says. And don't disrespect her, I still want you working after she's done with you." He said, still grinning. Bellatrix laughed like a madman and kept looking at the elf. This would do just fine.

"Let's go, you little shit!" She said, leaving the dining room, leading to the dungeons. As soon as she entered the dark, cold room, she produced a whip made with branches of roses, their thorns sharp, and started hurting the elf. "Scream!" She shouted. "I want to hear you!"

The elf started screaming. Each lash, its voice would go even higher. And Bellatrix laughed like a maniac, her eyes bulging.

Soon enough, she started to drift off. She didn't want to spank the elf just for pleasure, she also wanted to think. And she couldn't think about any better moment to think other then when torturing someone, even if it was just a house elf.

She needed to think about how to attack her enemies. She produced the ritual out of anger, without thinking. She knew she could die, but she actually didn't regret it. She regretted the fact that it was such a powerful spell, that it had gotten her sort of worn out.

Even though her she wanted to think about the Potters, her thoughts kept going back to that freak of a cousin she had. "Stand up, you insect!" The elf had fallen, but soon it was on its feet again, and she continued.

Sirius Black. He could be a thorn. Not enough to be a problem, but still... She had to do something to scare him, take him away from his friends... She had some ideas but none of them would show her cousin with whom he was dealing... She had discovered his apartment, it wasn't that difficult. She could trash the place around, be he was rich. Richer than her, as rich as the Malfoys and the blood traitor Potters. He had his old house, Grimmaud Place...

The elf fell again. Bellatrix felt the anger boiling inside her. She threw the whip away, pointed her wand at the elf and screamed "Crucio!". Instantly, the elf started screaming louder, and Bellatrix started laughing again.

What was she thinking about before being interrupted by the stupid elf? Ah, Grimmaud place... Grimmaud place... Suddenly, her eyes flashed. Her mind was illuminated by a brilliant idea. She laughed again, craziness palpable around her.

* * *

**A.N.:** Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to post something new, but this chapter (and the next) will have some... interesting information that we're going to use throught the series, so I wanted to double check it, and be sure I mentioned everything...

It's a short chapter and all, but the thing is, I wasn't going to stop at this point, but I noticed this chapter was too long already, and I still have a lot of things to say. The next chapter we're going to move a little forward a few weeks, and finally we will get to see the reaction of the Wizarding world to the fact that James, Lily and Harry Potter vanquished the Dark Lord. Ah, **Quinthar**, I said I'd focus on James, but that's only in the second part... Sorry =\

I'd like to thank everybody who's reading again. You're the ones who give me courage to keep on writing. I've been working on this idea for quite some time, but without your support, I wouldn't feel encouraged to move on. so THANK YOU for your kind PMs, reviews, questions... I really appreciate your attention, and hope you continue enjoying the story! I'll try to update on Sunday.

MSupernatural


	6. A present and a threat

**Choices**

**Summary:** There's power in all of the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

**Disclaimer:**Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_The elf fell again. Bellatrix felt the anger boiling inside her. She threw the whip away, pointed her wand at the elf and screamed "Crucio!". Instantly, the elf started screaming louder, and Bellatrix started laughing again._

_What was she thinking about before being interrupted by the stupid elf? Ah, Grimmaud place... Grimmaud place... Suddenly, her eyes flashed. Her mind was illuminated by a brilliant idea. She laughed again, craziness palpable around her._

* * *

After some days, life at the Potter Manor got easier. It didn't mean it got easy at all, but soon everybody was used to the idea of living there. James' foul mood made some appearances, but he finally seemed to be able to act as if things weren't too terrible and keep his memories out of the way.

Sirius used to visit them almost every day. He would arrive soon after breakfast (sometimes even join them if possible) and stay up to Harry's bed time. James suggested more than once for him to just move in, but Sirius always refused, because he 'loved his shoebox too much'. Remus didn't come around that often, as he was still doing some jobs for the Order, but he visited sometimes. He utterly refused to tell his friends were he was staying, though.

Alice and Frank Longbottom visited the Potter's, but not often enough to be something regular. Ever since Augusta's attack and death, they went into hiding again. Lily and James offered them to stay, as the Potter manor was unlikely to be attacked, but they refused as well.

So, in the end, much for the family's dismay, they always ended up alone in that big house. But this happened mainly during the night, so things weren't so terrible. What did upset them was the fact they couldn't go out of the manor. By December, the Wizarding World's initial shock faded, and the fact that Lord Voldemort was gone sank in. There were parties, celebrations, fireworks, more parties and more celebrations to thank the Potters for vanquishing the Dark Lord. So they just couldn't go anywhere, or they would be recognized, thanked, cherished and have their autographs asked. Owls and Owls came in every day, with letters, messages, boxes with presents and other goods for James, Lily and little Harry.

Christmas day wasn't different. On the Eve, Sirius and Remus finally accepted to sleepover, so, as soon as everybody was up, and they had had their breakfast, they started opening their presents.

"Wow!" Had been James reaction upon seeing the pile of letters and presents on their living room. It was extremely strange to get letters from people they didn't know, let alone receive presents, but James and Sirius, always two attention seekers, loved this new fame. Remus and Lily, on the other hand, seemed annoyed with the lack of privacy.

"Prongs, mate, if you don't open all these babies up, I'll do it!" Sirius said, his eyes also wide in awe. Remus looked suspicious, though. He got close to Lily and whispered:

"Do you think the Death Eaters could send something foul to you guys?"

She bit her lower lip and held Harry closer, still eyeing the pile of presents. "I don't know…" She said. "James said the wards wouldn't accept anything with dark magic in it, but I know we have to be careful… Mostly, poison and even some hexes aren't defined as dark, but still do damage."

James got one of the presents from the familiar pile, ran to his wife, got his son to his arms, and went back to the carpet in the center of the room, where he sat with Harry on his lap. Sirius, Remus and Lily soon joined them and they let Harry tear his first present: Mini plush quidditch balls enchanted to work similar to the big ones. This present was James'.

"You're trying to corrupt my child and make him interested only in sports, you vile man!" Lily said, laughing.

"Don't you dare start, woman! This is my foal, and thus he shall be raised Loving the sport!" And everybody laughed. Harry giggled with the plush bludger started hitting him softly.

The next present was Lily's. She gave him a small golden necklace with a golden heart pendant. It was enchanted to glow in the dark, grow around Harry's neck so he couldn't be strangled by it, and, in the future, when Harry learned how to do it, it would work as a portus to wherever she or James were.

Sirius' present was another child's broomstick, as the first had been lost in the accident. Remus' present was a self-telling story book. Alice and Frank gave Harry a crystal ball that, when touched by the baby, would glow in different colors, informing his parents if he was hungry, tired, thirsty, or these things.

Lily got a little disappointed because her sister didn't send anything to Harry, even though she and James had sent Dudley a new baby bicycle. "Don't worry about it, honey…" James said, in low tone so nobody would hear them. She looked up and locked her eyes in those beautiful hazel eyes she loved so much. "He doesn't need anything from them. And there's nothing they could give Harry that he doesn't have…"

Lily slowly nodded and smiled.

"Wow! This is fantastic!" Sirius shouted, and everybody looked at him. He was holding a broomstick, a new Comet given to him by both Lily and James.

Soon, everybody had opened their presents. Sirius pranked James, as when he opened his present, it was an opened box of Cockroach Clusters. The cockroaches started crawling on his arm, and James, who didn't like cockroaches at all, started shouting and ran away from the room. It took him several minutes to come back and open Sirius' real present, the biggest prank set from Zonko's.

When the pile of 'family' presents had been opened, Sirius and James decided to open the other presents, and Lily and Remus started opening the not-so-small pile of letters. Harry happily played with his balls.

"Okay, one more box of chocolate filled with love potion!" James announced and everybody laughed. They had gotten around 10 so far, and they weren't in the middle of the pile yet. Almost all of these presents were addressed to James. As Sirius was joking saying that the combination of being very handsome, extremely rich, totally cool, a real family guy and one of the saviors of the Wizarding World made the girls' _'__panties drop, __cherries pop'_.

"And there's the fact that he's excellent on the bed…" Lily said, chuckling. Sirius slapped his forehead as Remus and James laughed.

"How could I have forgotten that? And it's important to mention his sizes are very decent!" Sirius said in a girly voice, winking at James with a mischievous smile.

"OI!" Lily shouted staring at Sirius while James and Remus were almost suffering oxygen deprivation so hard they were laughing. She sighed and went back to the pile of letters.

"Oh, no, another one!" She said, and used her wand to burn the letter in front of her. Not all letters and presents were good. Few of them were actually howlers, they had found two boxes with poisoned chocolate, three envelopes with spells and even one box with Acromantula poison inside.

"Why do they do this?" Lily said, looking down.

"Hey, Lils, don't worry about these bastards… Just see those as some terrible jokes, and have a bit of fun. They surely can't harm us…" Sirius said, patting her shoulder.

"I know… But I fear for Harry…"

"HA! Nothing will happen to the Pronglet! I'll protect him with my life, right, Pronglet?" Sirius said, tickling his godson, who laughed.

Lily felt a little better, but didn't lose her cautious look.

"Another wedding proposal for you, James!" Remus said, laughing and holding a pink letter. The fifth so far. Lily groaned.

* * *

After Christmas and New Year, things started to go the right way. James finally seemed to have lost the bad attitude. As he couldn't see any danger in it, Dumbledore agreed with James going back to work. His new acquired fame didn't let him work on field, but he was happy enough to be working on tactics or preparing new aurors.

Lily spent most of her day with Harry, studying or brewing potions while he played with his new toys. The fact that James wasn't there let her carry on with her hobby. The only problem was, James got home early, so she couldn't prepare anything that took more than a few hours to brew. Of course she would prefer her husband at home instead of brewing potions, though.

During the afternoon, James, Sirius and, to Lily's dismay, Harry played quidditch. The first few times they played, Harry could only watch. That ended up stressing the boy so much that he started kicking and biting his mother.

So, after James making the field fully protected, either he or Sirius would carry Harry on their brooms. And finally, the last few games, Harry used his toy broomstick to fly around the field, in hot pursuit to the plush golden snitch. Even though the small ball was quite slow and big, Harry still couldn't catch it, and that frustrated him.

Sometimes Remus would join, and, on the rare occasions when Frank and Alice visited, they and Lily joined as well. The only one who didn't play was Neville, who seemed to detest flying and brooms.

They all tried their best, but James' team always ended up winning. Even though Sirius was in the team as well during Hogwarts, he had been a beater, and they were all playing as chasers, while the girls were keepers.

This very game, on James' birthday, James and Remus were 150 points ahead when they heard a shout of victory. Looking at each other, they didn't understand who had done it, but when they looked down, Harry was smiling, all his little teeth could be seen, and the plush golden snitch was in his hand.

"MY BOY!" James roared and flew high speed to his son. He grabbed Harry in a bear hug and started spinning him around.

"That's my godson! That's my godson!" Sirius said, dancing on his broom. Everybody else was smiling.

"He's going to be a fantastic player, Lily…" Frank said, smiling.

"Oh, God, not another one…" She said, Remus and Alice laughing. When she saw her husband's curious look, Alice said:

"Lily says that James was a… what was it again?" she looked at Lily with a questioning look.

"An arrogant, bullying toerag" Lily replied.

"Yes, an arrogant, bullying toerag, because he was so good at quidditch." Alice finished, looking back at her husband, who smirked.

"But don't forget that she got worried sick when he was playing." Remus intervened.

Alice and Frank laughed. "Even before she admitted liking him." Alice said, as the four laughed. Lily looked down and saw James, Harry and Sirius laughing.

"That's what I'm worried about… I can't stand seeing someone I love in danger. It was difficult with James, and it will be as difficult with Harry." She said.

Nobody said anything as Gally appeared on the side of the field and informed them the birthday dinner was ready. The six people and two babies went to the dining room and had a happy meal together. They talked and laughed and ate for a long time.

When they were finally satisfied, the dishes were taken and they started giving James their presents. A new agenda which reminded him if he forgot an event from Alice, a big bag of candies from Honeydukes (no cockroaches) from Frank, a book about transfigurative spells, James' favorite, from Remus and a stone of undying devotion (a very difficult potion to prepare. If you dip a stone in it, it will create a special stone that will allow the owner to talk to lover just by holding it, no matter the distance between them) from Lily. Alice, Frank and Neville soon left.

After this, Sirius stood up. Everybody got silent, as he spoke.

"Prongs… My present is not here. If everybody could follow me, I'll show it to you." He said. Everybody stood up and started following Sirius. Of course everyone was grinning; this could only mean a prank. Sirius, however, didn't smile. He looked so serious and nervous it was strange to see.

"Pads, buddy, you're not going to prank me with cockroaches again, right?" James said, smiling.

"No, no, Prongs… I'm actually very serious about this." The other people's smiles faded, and concern overtook their expressions. Not only wasn't he joking, but he didn't use the pun on his name.

As they walked, tension in the air, Sirius restarted talking.

"When we arrived here, I felt terrible because of the pain you were feeling. I loved your parents as my parents. Hell, they were my parents way more than those who bore me… And even though I felt pain myself, I know it's not as strong as the one you must be feeling."

James stared at the floor and said nothing. He didn't even pay attention to where they were going until they stopped. James looked up and found himself in from of the locked door on the third floor.

"Did you find a way to open it?" James asked Sirius.

"Yes, Gally told me… You need a password." He answered. He turned to the door and said: "Pottermore." The door opened with a click and Sirius moved aside so James could enter.

It was a long corridor, but that was it. Long, not so wide, and the only furniture was a single armchair at it's end and some paintings. As James entered and started walking down the corridor, he paid attention to the paintings. They were all white men qith messy hair, blue or hazel eyes. Some looked vaguely familiar and alike.

They all stared at them with stern looks. Some nodded to James, but simply ignored the others. One of the last paintings James was able to recognize.

"Uncle Charlus?" he said, eyes wide.

The man on the painting was thin and had deep black eyes. He seemed to be very intelligent, as he nodded a bit, but said nothing.

"Wait, Charlus, as Charlus Potter, your uncle, who married to Sirius' aunt?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Aye." Sirius said matter-of-factly.

"Wicked!" Remus said.

Everybody kept moving until they got to the end of the corridor. There, on the left side, there was the last painting, and the biggest of the room. It was clearly very new, as the paint wasn't totally dry yet. But nobody cared about it. There were two people on the painting, a woman and a man. They were both smiling.

She had hazel eyes and a long hair with the same color as Lily's. She was beautiful, and had this European aura around her. Her teeth were perfect and extremely white. She looked as if she were part of some kind of royalty, a princess of some sort. She could easily be said to be 30, or 40 top, but something in her eyes showed them she was way older.

He, on the other hand, had messy black hair, and deep blue eyes in which you could possibly drown yourself. He was beyond the meaning of the word handsome, with his strong jaw and broad shoulders. He also seemed like an authority, but his face showed a lot of compassion. He looked, at the same time, dangerous and incapable of causing harm. He was probably around 45, maybe 50.

It didn't take a second for everybody to know those were Harold and Lucile Potter. James' parents.

* * *

Bellatrix entered Muggle London. Or, she'd rather say, left the Wizarding London. One step out of the Leaky Cauldron and she already felt dirty. Filthy, in deed. And the fact that she, Mulciber, Lucius and Macnair had to dress up as other people didn't help either.

Bellatrix Lestrange couldn't help but growl. It's all that stupid, filthy, mudblood of a baby, his damn parents and her pathetic cousin fault. They would die, that's for sure, but the only thing that kept the Dark Lord's most confident servant happy was imagining them suffer because of a very special selection of spells. The idea of the screams of pain of the little baby would calm her deep. She then smiled.

"Let's get this done already. I want to go home and wash myself with… corrosive potion, probably." She said. Lucius, of course, was the only one who had the guts to chuckle.

They were on a mission, and even though Voldemort wasn't around and Bellatrix had lost three fingers in her fight against Augusta Longbottom, she was the leader. Not that they actually needed one, but she had always been bossy, and no one felt like arguing with her. But even though she was much more than a leader, everybody saw her as an… interim guide, so to speak.

They didn't have to walk long down the adjacent street to get in from of an apartment building. It seemed just like all the others, but the big number 7 on the wall made Bellatrix smile and stop.

"It's here. Let's get inside and prepare a little surprise for your friends."

* * *

Lily and Remus had one hand covering their own mouths. James stared at the painting for a few seconds and handed Harry to Lily, turning to face Sirius.

"Did you know about this?" He said, his voice dangerously low. "Did you know there was a painting of my parents here and never told me?"

"No, Prongs, mate. I discovered this room the day we arrived here. And there wasn't a painting here, I made it as a Christmas present for you!" Sirius said.

"But how? The incantations are probably the most complex that there are, I'm sure you can handle them…" James said. Sirius smiled. "but the requirements… Don't you need some kind of magical bound made before death and bits of the person?"

"Yes, son, you need." Harold Potter said. "But any person, as soon as they get into the family, get magically able to be immortalized on a painting. One of ancestors guaranteed it. I think his painting is the second of the hall. There first is, naturally, his father."

"Why didn't you tell me, dad?" James asked, pain evident on his voice.

"James… Your father told me why. And I agreed." His mother said, still smiling.

"The fact, son, is that… the incantations can only be performed by someone from the family…"

"Wait!" Lily said, before she could control herself. She blushed deeply when all the attention turned to her. She heard a sneer, but it didn't come from the living, nor from James' parents who were smiling at her, but another painting. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Potter, but did you say the person had to be from the family? Sirius made the painting, but I'm sure he's not from your family, right?"

"I am, Lils. Do you remember when I and James say we're brothers in everything but blood?" She nodded. "That's real. I was magically adopted by the Potters."

"What? Magically adopted? How can someone be magically adopted?" She asked. Remus took one step forward.

"If the person is 17 or younger, and is either an orphan or disinherited, he can be adopted into another wizarding family, if at least half of its members accept that person." He answered.

"So when Sirius ran away and got himself blasted, he got magically disinherited. I say magically, because as he is the oldest of his generation in the family, he'll still get everything that belong to the Blacks the moment his mother dies." James said.

"As if I wanted anything from those bastards!" Sirius said with a sour face.

"Sirius, language!" Both Lily and Mrs. Potter said. While Lucile Potter smiled, Lily blushed again.

"So, when Sirius started living with us, he had a lot of money given by his uncle, but he was magically disinherited. He and James were so devastated that I felt adopting him would be the correct thing to do." Mr. Potter said.

Then, something never seen before happened. Sirius blushed. Not entirely, no, it would be probably impossible for that to happen. But his cheeks got a bit pinky.

"Of course, he couldn't receive part of our belongings, because he hasn't received the other heirdom, and a wizard can only be entitled to receive one heritage… he also refused to call me dad, and didn't get the name Potter, but-"

"Oh, Harold, you're so prolix. You're boring the children to death!" Mrs. Potter said. "Long story short, as there were only five Potters alive by then, and the three of us accepted, Sirius became a Potter."

"He never accepted the surname, though." James said. Sirius was smiling, but still very silent.

Lily was extremely dumbfounded. Remus was smiling, so she knew he knew it all.

"Were you adopted as well?" She asked to him.

"No, my parents were alive. And when they died, I was 18 already." He said, still smiling.

"So, dad, you didn't tell me why you kept this…" James raised his hands to show the corridor. "As a secret."

His father sighed and looked at his son. "You have no idea how difficult it is to create these paintings, James." He said. And then, he continued, as he saw his son opening his mouth. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you can do the magic. The problem is, it takes many long days. Hurtful days,because the paintings test you, to see if you deserve keeping the Potter behind. I had to create my father's and my brother's portraits, can you imagine how painful those days were? I had to see their memories… I was tested, I saw all kinds of horrible things they went through their whole lives… And I thought you'd be the one prepare mine, as only men from the family can do it." He looked down, thoughtful.

"Four weeks of your father's life were horrible, Jamsie. Those were the ones, two for creating his father's, two for his brother's." Lucia said, looking at her husband and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Sirius himself cried every day." Harold added. Everybody looked at Sirius, but he was looking at the floor. His hair was hanging on the sides of his face, so nobody could see it. "If you paid attention, only men have paintings, and only men should have access to this room. But Sirius apparently didn't care about this– I agree with you, Sirius, that's just chauvinism…" He said smiling, when Sirius whispered an apology. "…so he painted your mother as well. So it was twice harder for him. I had decided to end this tradition, but Sirius decided it had to continue."

James walked over to Sirius and hugged him tight, tears in his eyes. "Thank you so much. I don't even know how I can thank you enough. You're my best friend, my brother. I love you, Sirius Black…"

Everyone smiled. Sirius hugged James back and giggled. "Okay, okay… No need to get all gay. I know you love me." He said. He ended the hug and looked his friend's wet eyes when they separated. "but I love you too, Prongs." He added, with a smile, and hugged him again.

After almost one minute still hugging, Remus cleared his throat. James and Sirius broke the hug, but were smiling. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, it was excellent to see you again." Remus said.

"You too, Remus" Harold replied.

"Please, come and visit us again, my dear. And don't pay attention to the guys on the other portraits, they also got angry when they saw a woman on this one. We have to change this habit of only Potter men painted, only Potter men visit..." Lucile said, smiling. Harold also smirked.

"Hey, Moony, would you mind going to my place and help me with a boggart? I've got one in the apartment building and I wouldn't like to deal with it alone." Sirius said.

"Sure, Pads." Remus said, smiling.

"So, off I go as well. Bye everybody. Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Prongs, mate, happy birthday again. Lily. Pronglet, my godson." Sirius said, waving to the portrait, hugging Lily and high fiving James. He kissed Harry's forehead. The boy was already sleeping, after all that conversation.

"Come visit us, okay, Sirius, my dear?" Lucile said.

"Sure thing." He replied, smiling.

"And, Sirius…" Harold said. "Thank you again for showing me that I was wrong, for your bravery and strength, and for your fidelity to this family. We're very proud of you… my son."

While everyone smiled, Sirius' jaw dropped. Once more that night he blushed. He turned and left the room, Remus following him.

"Lily, honey, it's good to see you and James got married." Lucile said, still smiling. "It's a pity we didn't make it to your wedding."

"It was a small ceremony, madam. But I would have loved to see you there." Lily said, also smiling.

"Is that our grandson?" Harold asked Lily, looking at the baby sleeping in her arms.

"Yes, dad. He's almost two. His name is Harry." James said, grinning. His father's eyes widened, and then he smiled warmly.

"Thank you son… He is so beautiful… So peaceful…"

"Just when he's sleeping, Mr. Potter. By the way, I should take him to bed. Bye Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter."

"Came around tomorrow, Lily, will you?" Lucile said. "I want to know all news that only a girl could tell." Mrs. Potter winked.

"Will do, madam." Lily said, giggling. "Bye love. I'll be waiting for you." She said to James, kissed him and left with Harry, so he could stay alone with his parents.

There was some seconds of awkward silence between the man and his parents on the picture. While Mr. and Mrs. Potter smiled warmly, waiting for their son to say something, James just stared at them, with a somewhat painful look on his face.

"Mum... Dad..." he finally said. There was a lump on his throat, and it almost hurt to speak. "I-I missed you so much..." James stopped looking at his parents and let his gaze go down, so he stared at the floor.

"James..." His mother started, only to be cut by her son.

"I've been through so many things since you're gone! I needed you so bad!" James said, pain evident in his voice. He was still staring at the floor, so the Potters wouldn't know the extent of the pain in their son.

"James, please, look at us." Harold said. James slowly put his head up. "I know it must have felt as though we weren't there for you, but that's not true... We're always with you, even if you can't see us, or we don't answer when we ask you something."

"I know... I just..." James lost his ability to speak. He was now looking at his parents as they just waited for him to continue. "I just... felt terrible... For everything I did..."

"James..." his mother said. "You know, our memories go up to the moment we were, according to the pieces of us that Sirius used. We don't know what happened after, he just told us we both got some silly sickness and died, mainly because of our age... So, we can't possibly know what you did that was so terrible..."

"No, mum, you didn't understand. Near the time you... were gone, I didn't do anything wrong... I don't think I would have continued living if I had..."

"James, quit the drama!" Harold said. He wasn't rude at all, but both his wife and son knew he hated drama. "If you didn't do anything bad near the time of our death..." James flinched and Harold rolled his eyes before continuing. "... then I don't get why you feel like this!"

James whispered something his parents couldn't hear. "What was that again?" Lucile said.

"I-I feel bad because of... what I put you through with my reckless attitude!" he said. James' head went up fast, his face a frown of annoyance when his parents started laughing.

"What?" His mother said, still laughing a bit. "James, dear, you were a child! We don't even remember any bad events! When little Harry grows up, you'll see that the good memories will simply erase the bad ones..."

James looked a bit skeptical. "What were those?" His father said, grinning.

"What were what?" James looked puzzled.

"What moments do you feel guilty about? Tell us and we can forgive you, or scold you, or laugh at you." Harold said.

"Gee, thanks..." James said, looking annoyed, but he felt that was an excellent idea. "Dad... I feel terrible about the day I stole your broom..."

"Which specific time?" His father asked, still smiling.

"All of them, but principally when I was 9 and I ended up falling..."

"Wow, I had forgotten about that one. You broke your wrist right? I was worried sick!" Harold said. James looked down. "But I felt really proud of you. You are a natural flying, son. I didn't say anything because your mother would think I'd be encouraging you to get the broom again..."

James turned to his mother. "The prank Sirius prepared for Snape..."

"Oh, dear, it was so noble of you to help saving him..." his mother said.

"The day I made aunt Dorea fall from the stairs..." At this, Harold giggled.

"Son, I'm sorry to say, but that was my fault. I accidentally shout a hex to her direction..." They heard a loud _'Hey'_ coming from Charlus', Dorea's husband, painting. Harold bit his lower lip. "It seems I'll have to explain some things to my brother..." 'You betcha!' came from the painting, and everybody smiled.

"The time I dyed professor Larian's hair pink?" James said, but he was still smiling.

"That was actually a good one, son." Lucile said, winking. "You just should have been caught, that was what angered me the most."

"The Jarvey?" James once had tried to raise a jarvey, the ferret like creature that curse more than a pirate.

"If it weren't so big, I might even have liked the pet." His father replied.

"The time me and Sirius pretended we were dating each other?" James laughed a bit.

"We were not prepared for that, I have to admit. You two were such womanizers..." His mother said, smiling. Then, she looked at her husband. "But to tell you the truth, your father believed it, and even after you said it was a prank, he still tried to catch you, say, in action..." She laughed as Harold blushed.

"Dad! You knew I liked Lily! How come you believed we were gay?" James said, indignantly.

"Well, like your mother said, you guys were always around so many girls, comparing them and announcing how many dates you had... I thought you were kind of... overcompensating..." Harold giggled nervously.

James was smiling, but then his smile disappeared like a flash. Of course that wasn't missed by his parents. Something that really worried him was about to be uncovered. James stared at the stone floor again before speaking.

"I'm so sorry about what I said... on my last birthday." Harold and Lucile tensed. They knew that was coming, but they though James would bring the subject up so soon. They thought he would wait until he had more courage. What they had forgotten was the fact that James was a pure Gryffindor.

They day of James' 19th birthday, the last one that his parents were alive, the three had a big argument. It started out of nowhere, some cheeky answer from James' part, some shouting from Harold's and some rude comments from Lucile's. The argument was _per si_ was not that bad. The only problem was the end of it.

James was so angry at his parents that he said _'I'll go away from you, and I'll never see you again. I'll never step inside this house, and I'll only come back when you're dead, so I get the money that's mine!'_. Of course James came around and apologized, but the damage was done. 8 months later, his parents were dead, and James was devastated. That was the thing he regretted the most, the reason he couldn't stand living there, he couldn't, and wouldn't, use the Potter's inheritance.

"James... I-I'm sorry as well..." Harold said. "I shouldn't have shouted at you, and I feel miserable because of that..."

"Son, we both felt terrible... We love you more than anything, you know how important family is for us, and the thought we failed you..." Lucile said, looking down.

James had tears in his eyes. "No... No! It wasn't your fault! It was mine! I was stupid for saying those things. I didn't mean anything, anything really! If I could, I'd give all this... money, this house to have you back!"

"We know that, son. You just lost it, and you were very young. Of course we didn't believe it. It stung at first, but then we soon forgot, because we knew it was nothing from your heart." Harold said.

"To the point our memories are, James, it has been three months since your birthday. Three terrible months in which we felt terrible for doing that to you..." Lucile said.

"Mum, it was my fault! And to me it has been three years. I-I can't even begin to tell you how bad I've been feeling all these years. Do you please, please forgive me? I take it all b-back, I-I want you to just forget it..." James said, tears finally rolling freely from his eyes.

"We do, son. We did already. Let's do this, we all forget what happened. The whole thing was a giant mistake, and we're over it. Deal?" Harold said.

James only nodded, cleaning his face with his shirt's sleeves. They stayed there, looking at each other for a while. The weight on their shoulders was over at last. Not long, they were smiling, and soon James said goodbye, said he loved them and went to bed.

* * *

Sirius and Remus arrived at the apartment seconds after they left the Potter manor.

"So, how do you think a boggart found a wizard in the middle of muggle London? I know this is near the Leaky Cauldron and all, but still..." Remus said.

"Well, it's in the mail locker. I bet I received something magical, but, as I don't use the muggle mail, I almost never checked it, so the boggart must have found it." Sirius replied. "Thanks for doing this, by the way... You know how boggarts affect me... because of what they become..." he continued, darkly.

Of course Remus knew, so he just nodded. Once, they found a boggart at Hogwarts in their last year. Remus and James dealt with it easily enough, but Sirius got so scared that he almost entered in shock. Peter didn't even join them.

They stopped at the atrium of Sirius' apartment building and went to the mail lockers, casting some muggle repelling spells and a silence spell. Sirius opened his locker, number 34, and waited on the side. Out of it came a round globe. The moon.

"Riddikulus!" Remus shouted. The globe turned into a balloon losing its air and flying around. Finally, it found Sirius. It stopped in front of him and started to transform. It grew legs, arms and a head, and then it fell to the ground. James' dead body.

"R-Riddikulus!" Sirius cried, but nothing happened. The boggart transformed into Remus' dead body. "Ri-Riddi..." Sirius stuttered. The boggart changed again to Lily's body. "RIDDIKULUS!" Sirius shouted. But even he knew it wouldn't work this time. He couldn't focus on something funny anymore. The body changed once more, and then it was Harry's little body. Sirius finally lost it and started screaming and crying.

Remus was in shock. Seeing his friends dead was terrible, but Harry's body? He rushed and looked at the boggart. It changed again into the moon and Remus screamed at the top of his voice the incantation. It turned into a cockroach. Remus used the spell again and the boggart was destroyed.

He knelt beside his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Padfoot, calm down... It was just a boggart. They're okay, they're happy... They're safe at home..."

Remus continued to whisper soft words to Sirius until his loud cries and sobs were nothing but some whimper.

"I'm sorry, Moony..." he finally said, cleaning his face with the handkerchief Remus handed him.

"There's nothing to feel sorry about, Pads. It was terrible, I almost lost it myself..." Remus said. They finally stood up and when upstairs to Sirius apartment. Both of them were so lost in their own thoughts that they just opened the door and entered. As soon as they turned on to face the small living room, they found Bellatrix Lestrange smiling, pointing her wand at them.

"Hello, cousin!" She said. Behind her, Lucius, Mulciber and Macnair were also pointing their wands at them.

They had just walked into a trap.

* * *

**A.N.:** Hey guys, sorry about the cliffie. I want to continue, but I think it's better to leave the fight to another chapter, there's a lot of information in this already. Also, when I had to decide a password, Pottermore kept coming, so I just thought, hey, why not?

So, 'Choices' didn't get any reviews in the last chapter... Are you guys enjoying it? Please, give me some feedback, okay? I need to know if I'm having any kind of trouble I shouldn't. Thanks for those who sent me some PMs with their opinions! And special thanks to **Quinthar,** who always commented about the new chapters and helped me. You Rock, capital R!

I have a question for you. I want to know the readers opinion (I'm not going to create a poll because every time I try, it crashes, and I can't create it. I don't know what is happening...), okay? I really want to know: Who do you think is worse, Barty Crouch Jr. or Bellatrix? Or maybe Lucius? I have some ideas, but I need to know who to use... I'll be waiting for your answer! Thanks!

Thanks for everybody following the story, and those who favorited it as well! I hope you like this chapter!

MSupernatural


	7. A battle and a meeting

**Choices**

**Summary:** There's power in all of the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

**Disclaimer:**Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

* * *

_Last__Chapter_

_They finally stood up and when upstairs to Sirius' apartment. Both of them were so lost in their own thoughts that they just opened the door and entered. As soon as they turned on to face the small living room, they found Bellatrix Lestrange smiling, pointing her wand at them._

_"Hello, cousin!" She said. Behind her, Lucius, Mulciber and Macnair were also pointing their wands at them._

_They had just walked into a trap._

* * *

"Bellatrix." Sirius hissed, narrowing his eyes. Bellatrix laughed maniacally, but her wand didn't even shake. Her eyes were fixed on her cousin, her mouth twisted into a sinister smile.

"Well, well, dearest cousin…" she said, showing all her teeth. "It's been a while. Why didn't you owl me? Why didn't you visit me?" her voice was childish, too sweet to be true.

"You're mental, Bellatrix." Sirius snarled. "Did Voldemort crucio you too much?"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAYING HIS NAME!" Again, her face twisted, but this time it showed pure hatred.

"You don't scare me, Bella. I think we've made this very clear." Sirius said, looking nothing but bored now. He was standing in the small corridor that led to the living room. Behind him, Sirius could feel Remus moving slightly to the sides to see what was happening. His cousin laughed again in that sinister tone.

"You know nothing, you large baggage of scum. You and your half-breed of a friend think you can handle us?" She said moving her head a little to see Remus. Sirius fumed.

"Now, you listen, you bitch, I'm not going to hear you say…"

"Enough!" Lucius cut. "Bellatrix, do what you came here to do and let's go!"

Sirius looked at the blond man. He didn't seem nervous, but his words showed some impatience. He was next to the woman, in the middle of the small living room. Bellatrix smiled again that unnatural smirk she was wearing when they arrived.

"You see, cousin, we came here to ask you a simple question. If you answer, I might let you and your freak friend die quickly."

Sirius laughed humorless. "What could you possibly want, you psycho?"

"I want to know where the little brat is." She said, her smile, if possible, getting even wider. Sirius inhaled, feeling his whole body tremble. The anger and hatred he felt was unimaginable.

"Bellatrix, I'll die before you get near Harry!" He said.

"DIE THEN!" Bellatrix screamed. And then the battle began.

Sirius jumped and rolled, barely missing being hit by his cousin's stinging hex. Remus, behind him, shielded himself from the spells cast by Lucius and Macnair and pointed his wand to Bellatrix:

"Stupefy!" and moved so he was in the middle of the room. Lucius and Macnair turned their attention to the werewolf, while Bellatrix and Mulciber continued looking straight front to Sirius. The red jet of Remus' spell was blocked by the only female Death Eater, who cast another spell at her cousin. This time, Sirius was prepared.

"Protego!" the hex hit some sort of invisible wall and was rebounded back to the woman. With a sharp movement of arm, she blocked the spell. Not waiting for her to prepare herself, Sirius sent a wordless incantation that cut Bellatrix's arm.

She frowned and sent another spell at Sirius, at the same time that Mulciber used another spell at him. Sirius dodged both spells by rolling on the floor and going out to the corridor of the apartment building. He got back on his feet and pointed his wand at his cousin, still inside his apartment.

"Expelliarmus!" The red light ran towards the woman, but she managed to use a counter-spell to end it. She sent some spells at Sirius, but he either dodged or protected himself.

Mulciber, previously behind Bellatrix, finally managed to get out of the apartment. He started drawing shapes on the air, clearly performing a very strong incantation. Bellatrix screamed another curse that Sirius countered.

Inside the apartment, in the small living room, Lucius and Macnair showered Remus with spells. Strangely though, neither of them used any of the Unforgivables, which would have been difficult to dodge, because of the size of the room.

Luckily for him, the two Death Eaters could not be compared to the werewolf. Macnair had always been a violent man, dangerous for his ruthless act and massive physique, but he wasn't any smart, and his magical skills were nonexistent, which made him fairly similar to a troll. He continually cast either 'stupefy' or the stinging hex, but Remus' shields didn't even tremble.

Lucius was a bit more skilled, but that meant close to nothing. Being the coward he was, he only attacked when his enemies couldn't retaliate, were incapable of defending themselves or were massively outnumbered. The lack of decent duels made him rusty and slow. He knew a fair share of incantations, though, which he used against Remus. But even, the marauder's defensive skills were way better.

Lucius and Macnair cast two stunning spells and some stinging hexes, but Remus simply defended himself with a 'protego', which rebounded some of the spells back to the Death Eaters. Not waiting to see if those spells would hit, he turned his wand to Macnair.

"Everte Statum!" The white hex hit the man on his chest, throwing his fiercely to the wall. The strength was such that Remus and Lucius could hear his head hit the wall and the distinct sound of a bone snapping. He fell to the ground and didn't move anymore.

Lucius frowned and continued shooting spell after spell towards Remus, who either dodged, blocked or sent them back. With a different shake of wand and a few selected words, Remus created a whole swarm of bees that attacked Lucius. And while Lucius was trying to protect himself from the bees, Remus turned around and went to the entrance to see Sirius.

He felt the strange cold shock of dread on his spine. Sirius and Bellatrix were dueling each other, which didn't worry Remus. Even though Bellatrix was a skilled witch, Sirius was even better. Most of the spells and counter-spells were voiceless, but the amount of hexes was impressing. Sirius was perfectly fine, but Bellatrix had some deep cuts on her arms and face.

No, what terrified Remus wasn't the fight ahead, but the curse Mulciber was preparing. It was potentially deadly. Many Order members had already fallen to that specific spell, including her friend Marlene's dad. Remus knew that, if Mulciber finished the spell, Sirius was done for. The Order didn't know how to stop or counter that spell, and that's what made it so deadly.

"Sirius, Watch out!" Remus shouted. He pointed his wand to Mulciber and screamed "Stupefy!". The stunning spell hit the man on his chest, but sadly not before the curse was finally complete. The black cloud slowly moved towards Sirius. It couldn't be stopped, it couldn't be countered. Bellatrix laughed maniacally before the cloud finally made it to Sirius.

* * *

James was almost falling asleep when he felt it. It felt like a hand, a nasty, dreadful, foul hand crushing his heart, as if trying to slowly kill him. Suddenly, he couldn't even breathe. He sat on his bed, trying to get over the terrible felling he was having.

Lily, who was on his side already sleeping, didn't even feel him moving, but James was glad because of it. He didn't want to wake her up.

The pressure on his chest didn't cease. He knew he was breathing, but he couldn't stop feeling breathless. He stood up and almost ran out of the bedroom to get to Harry's nursery. He knew something was not right, but he didn 't know what it was, and if something happened to his son... James couldn't even think about it.

Harry was sleeping quietly. His small eyes closed and James could see his tiny belly going up and down as his son breathed. His son was okay, which meant the problem was else where.

"Gally" James said as soon as he got out of the nursery and closed the door. With a somewhat loud pop, mainly because of the silence in the house, the elf appeared.

"Sir?" The elf said. If he was sleeping, James wouldn't be able to tell.

"Gally, can you please check the wards around the manor?" The elf bowed whispering a soft acceptance, and left with another pop.

James didn't have to wait long, though. The fact that Gally was attached to the house, being its house elf, gave him the connection to rapidly check all the wards. Soon after, the elf was back.

"Sir, all the wards are intact. There's nothing outside."

James stared at his feet. His boy was okay. Lily was sleeping in their bedroom. The house wasn't under attack. Then why did that pressure on his heart continue? The putrid hand he could feel smashing his heart was still there, full force.

He finally got the two-way mirror he used to communicate with Sirius. "Sirius" He said softly, and waited. "Sirius" he said again. "Sirius!" He hated how his voice sounded like a plea. An then it downed to him, like a cold shower. His friend was in danger.

* * *

Remus didn't even have time to think. As he saw the cloud getting near Sirius, he did the only thing he could do.

"Depulso!" He shouted, pointing his wand to Sirius. He was thrown all the way through the corridor and fell right in front of the stairs. Bellatrix was completely blown away by the sudden turn of events. She stared at Remus and screamed what seemed to be a scowl.

"YOU! Avada kedavra!" She shouted, pointing her wand to him. Remus jumped out of the way and felt the green spell passing on his side. Bellatrix tried once more and Remus moved again, this time standing in front of the stunned Mulciber.

"Your excuse of a master is gone, Bellatrix!" Remus said, grinning. He normally wouldn't tease an opponent, but his plan wouldn't work any other way. Bellatrix's frown deepened as she showed her teeth in anger.

"Avada kedavra!" She hissed again. Then she noticed her mistake. As soon as the green light flashed, Remus moved again and the curse hit who was behind him: Mulciber. The man was already knocked down, but she knew he was now dead.

"NO!" She screamed. "YOU"LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU FILTHY HALF-BREED!" They started sending spell after spell against each other.

On the other side of the corridor, Sirius slowly stood up. He was dizzy and had a strong headache. Remus had really knocked him, but of course he understood the reason. He took a glimpse of the wall where the black cloud hit and saw the deep black mark on it. He subconsciously shook a bit in fear.

He watched as Remus and Bellatrix fought, and he saw the moment when Lucius shot a curse at Remus back and his friend fell. Sirius started firing furiously against his cousin and Lucius. Suddenly, he heard some pops inside his apartment.

Bellatrix smirked again. "Back up is here. Let's see what they do to you, dear cousin." She said.

"Sirius, run!" Remus said. Sirius faced his friend.

"No, Remus, we can make it!" Sirius said.

"Go, Padfoot. Save yourself. Tell Dumbledore about this and..." Whatever Remus was going to say was lost when Lucius hit him with the Cruciatus curse. "GO!" He cried between screams.

Sirius blocked another spell from his cousin and pointed his wand to her. There was a flash of light and Bellatrix groaned. Taking another look at his friend suffering on the floor, Sirius started running down the stairs. He could hear his cousin's heels tapping on the floor, but he didn't stop to acknowledge if she was or not near him, because, as soon as he got to the second floor, he felt the Anti-apparating wards gone. Throwing one more spell towards the Death Eaters, he finally apparated, leaving all that havoc behind.

* * *

"Lily... Lily, love, wake up... Lily, please, wake up..."

"Wh... What? James? What happened?" Lily sat on their large bed, looking to her sides. James almost never woke her up, so she knew something important was up.

"Lily, I'm sorry to wake you up..." James' face was distorted in pain.

"What happened, James? You're scaring me! Where is Harry?" Lily started to get up, but was soon stopped by James' hand.

"Harry is alright, darling. He's sleeping."

"What's up, then?" She said. She couldn't help feeling relieved.

"It's Sirius. I can't manage to contact him... I have this strange feeling that he may be in danger, and I called him on the mirror, and he has never taken a long time to reply..." James was frantic. He kept on passing his fingers through his hair, his most characteristic sign of anxiety and flutter.

"Jamie, calm down! Maybe he's just taking a shower, or already asleep..." Lily said, putting her hand on her husband's shoulder.

James stood up and started pacing around their bedroom. "No, Lily, he would answer. He would stop anything to answer if I called, this is something we have agreed. No, something happened..."

"How do you know, love?" Lily asked softly.

James turned to look at his wife. "I... I... I can feel it to my bones, okay?" He started pacing again.

"James, you can't forget this is Sirius we're talking about... He can defend himself very well... have you contacted the order?" Since the new events, there was always somebody from the order at the headquarters, so if something happened, they could do something as fast as possible.

"I sent them an owl. As the fireplaces are blocked, I couldn't floo call them." James answered, exasperated. Waiting and doing nothing was killing him slowly. He had to do something, he couldn't just stay there and let his imagination take over. "I'm going there, to his apartment."

"NO! No, James, you can't go! It's way more dangerous for you. If... If something happened to Sirius, he would be able to save himself, or send us a message, and then we'd ask the order to do something."

"But Lily, love, if I don't do anything and he..." James' frown deepened. He couldn't think about it. "...and something happens, I will never be able to forgive myself." He understood that he couldn't go out, of course, but he just couldn't stay there either.

"I know, Jamsie. Please, wait a bit more, if..." Whatever Lily was going say was lost because of a loud knock on the door. James, who was already stood, ran to it and opened it with a large pull. Gally was standing outside.

"Mr. and Mrs., Gally is very sorry to bother, but..." Lily stood and approached the door. "...but Mister Padfood has just apparated outside the wards."

Even before Gally finished speaking, James was already running out the door and going downstairs. Lily and the elf started following him, but not as fast as him. "Gally, can you please get him and bring him to the living room? I guess this way it will be faster." Gally snapped his fingers and disappeared.

James finally reached the first floor, but before getting out of the house, he saw Sirius and Gally standing in the middle of the room. He ran to his best friend's arms and hugged him tightly.

"Padfoot! What happened, buddy?" He said, breaking the embrace. He got shocked when he saw that Sirius was crying. It was a soft, silent cry, but the tears were falling freely. "Sirius, what happened?"

James saw his best friend inhale. "The Death Eaters attacked my apartment." Sirius' face twisted into a frown. "We fought and they ended up getting Remus."

* * *

Remus could feel he was going to pass out soon. The comforting blackness would be a blessing after being crucioed so much. He could only remember the pain he felt when Lucius or Bellatrix used the unforgivable curse on him. He knew he had been moved, and, by the coldness around him, he knew he was in some sort of dungeon.

This time it was Bellatrix who was cursing him. "Ready to tell me where they are, you filthy beast?" She asked, her voice full of disgust and hatred.

Remus spat what he knew that was his blood. He didn't have strength enough to answer her, so he just stayed there. Bellatrix groaned and cursed him again.

"You're going to be sorry stopping me from getting my cousin, you nasty half-breed." She said. Finally, Remus passed out, being engulfed by the soft embrace of darkness.

* * *

Not long after Sirius' arrival, most of the Order members had been contacted and a new meeting was organized at the headquarters, that after her death, was at Augusta Longbottom's house. The meetings were held in the main dining room: a large, spacious room, all carpeted with a big black table in it's centre. People were already gathered there, sitting on the large chairs, looking both tired and nervous.

This was the first official meeting from the order that Lily and James participated since they went into hiding. They saw many familiar faces, such as Frank and Alice, Moody, Dedalus, Elphias, Emmeline... But all the empty places showed them how many dear friends were killed already. Marlene McKinnon, the Prewett brothers, Benjy Fenwick, the Bones. One seat was from the traitor.

On the other hand, there were some new faces. Molly and Arthur Weasley were quickly introduced, and James recognized Kingsley Shacklebolt, one auror he worked with. There were a few people they didn't know that weren't introduced, but again, it had been over a year they were hiding.

Finally, Albus entered the room through the living room entrance. He stood at the head of the table and looked at the Order. His eyes were dull and cold, nothing from the childish, slightly freakish glow they normally had.

"I'm sorry to have bothered your night, but something very important happened few hours ago." He said, in a low tone. "First of all, I would like to reintroduce James and Lily Potter, who were hiding to protect their son, Harry. Since things changed a bit, I would say they can return to our normal intimacy."

"You all know very well what happened on the day of Halloween, as I myself informed you about Voldemort's..." Apart from James and Albus himself, everybody flinched. "...fall. What I failed to inform you, though, is that the threat isn't over."

Albus was still standing, and started pacing around the table, his eyes showing how lost in his thoughts he was. He gently and slowly struck his long beard. "You may know that the Order is using this beautiful manor because of Frank's generous offer." he took a glance at Frank. "This is the house in which he grew up, and this is the house in which his mother lived... And I'm very sorry to say that this was the house in which Augusta Lombottom died."

Frank received some sympathetic looks, but his face showed nothing more than determination. Albus continued, not waiting for a comment. "Augusta was cowardly attacked by four Death Eaters, and, if you want the opinion of an old man who has participated in quite a few battles himself, four very skilled and capable Death Eaters. But they were nothing compared to Augusta. She managed to kill two of them and injure the other two before going down..."

Frank was still looking determined, and, on his side, Alice had tears in her eyes, but pride was visible in both pairs of eyes.

"Augusta was killed so a very dark ritual could be performed. This ritual is also very old, very little is known about it, even though some families actually know about its existence." Albus stopped again at the head of the table. He looked at some of the people there in their eyes. "Some people say that Morgana used this ritual on Merlin. According to the legends, that's why she wasn't killed many years before, as only Merlin could in fact kill her..."

"Wait. So that means that Bellatrix...?" Frank asked.

"My research appoints so, Frank." Dumbledore said calmly. "You see, my friends, Bellatrix Lestrange used this ritual to bond herself to the Potters. That means that they have to kill her, or she will kill them..."

Everybody was looking at James and Lily now. "But what happens if somebody kills her instead?" Shacklebolt asked.

"Oh, it's interesting. As this is not a very common ritual, there's very little actual information about it. But if you want a guess, a guess I should ask you to believe in, I would say that this person would die for interfering with the ritual." He said, simply.

"Well, that's not so bad, then?" Dedalus said. "I mean, the ritual is terrible, but James and Lily are way better than Bellatrix, so..." he let his voice die.

"Yes, that's correct, but Bellatrix holds the ritual. And if she decides she doesn't want it anymore, she can end it."

"How?" Dedalus asked. This time, Albus didn't answer. Frank Longbottom spoke instead.

"She would have to perform the counter ritual, killing somebody related by blood with my mother. That means me, my uncle or Neville." Gasps were heard all around the room.

"Another thing is, if Lord Voldemort comes back to his full power - and you know my opinion on the subject - The ritual will take everyone related with it. We can assume, though, that she will try to get the ritual ended if she can't kill Harry's family, as she wants to serve her Lord again." Dumbledore continued. "Of course, knowing that, we can't accept deaths in either families, Potter or Longbottom."

"We have to help the Potters get to Bellatrix, then." Moody said. "Who can kill her?"

"James, Lily, little Harry and Sirius Black, Harry's godfather." Albus said. Silence took over the room for some minutes. Everybody was lost in their own thoughts. Sirius got his head up and looked inside Albus' eyes, face twisted in pain, the plead obvious. He didn't want to stay there talking, he wanted to save his friend.

"Well, but this is not the main purpose of this meeting. I wanted to inform you of the ritual, and bring the Potters back to action, but the most important is that something happened this last night. Sirius is going to tell us exatly what happened."

Sirius told them everything that happened after he left the Potter Manor. The encounter with the boggart (he didn't mention the shapes of the boggart, though) and the trap. When he got to the moment in which Remus saved him, he felt he couldn't continue. James, feeling his best friend predicament, went on.

"Remus saved Sirius, so he could come back and inform the Order about Bellatrix's plans." he said.

"I ran like a coward!" Sirius said.

"Not, you didn't, Sirius! You did the correct thing. Both of you were already hurt, there wasn't a lot you could do. If you had stayed and duelled, they might have killed Remus..." James said.

Sirius stared at the table and said nothing. It was obvious he blamed himself.

"You all know about our spy within Voldemort's ranks. The problem is that Severus used to get all the information from Voldemort himself..." more flinches when Dumbledore said his name. "...so we don't know if he will get anything from the other Death Eaters. I'd like you to find information, anything that will help us save Remus Lupin. And I want you to prepare yourselves. We might need to attack them soon."

Being dismissed after this, people went home. One thing was common in all of them, though. Determination to save their friend.

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**A.N.:** Hey guys! Here you have another chapter, I put some action in it for the action lovers. I hope you like it, It's a somewhat new style for me, because this is the first full duel scene I wrote. Tell me what you think, ok? There will be many more, so I need to know if it's good enough for you!

Thank you again for everyone reading this story. 3,7k views by far. THANK YOU so much for trying it. A special thanks for the people who reviewed last chapter, Quinthar, Gigi, JSC-HR and sad sabrin. Your attention was really appreciated, I hope you keep on helping me with your comments!

As I've been telling you guys, live's been hectic. I'll try to update in min. 10 days max. 2 weeks, ok? I hope I can get to do it.

Please, before you leave, tell me what you're thinking about the story. Oh, and if you have any special requests, just review it, or send me a PM, 'kay? Cheers!


	8. How much does it hurt?

**Choices**

**D****isclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner. If it belonged to me, all the Marauders would be alive. =)

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_Last__ Chapter_

_"You all know about our spy within Voldemort's ranks. The problem is that Severus used to get all the information from Voldemort himself..." more flinches when Dumbledore said his name. "...so we don't know if he will get anything from the other Death Eaters. I'd like you to find information, anything that will help us save Remus Lupin. And I want you to prepare yourselves. We might need to attack them soon."_

_Being dismissed after this, people went home. One thing was common in all of them, though: Determination to save their friend._

* * *

Sirius Black had never been so interested in something. He had never worked so hard to get something done. Of course he had already used a lot of energy to achieve some particular goals, becoming an animagus to help Remus was just one of the best examples. But then, he had been motivated by the feeling of helping a close friend. Most of the times, however, his only impulse was curiosity. Some others, the idea that doing something would create opportunities he'd be interested. But this time, it wasn't such a shallow purpose that motivated him so go on.

It was guilt. Sirius was so drowned in his on guilt that the only thought in his mind, from the moment he woke up until the time his body gave up and he slept about 20 hours later, was how Remus was in danger, and how it was only his fault. After 3 and half, 4 hour maximum, he would wake up again and leave, generally before sunrise.

He went to the ministry, to Hogwarts, and even once to his parents' house, making sure, of course, that his mother wasn't there. He wanted information; he wanted to know where his best friend was. He checked for anything that would give them the idea of where his crazy cousin could be, but the whole search always came out blank.

He barely stopped. He went to the bathroom when he couldn't hold any longer, and he surely didn't stop to eat. Actually, he wouldn't be able to tell if he ate the last few days at all. He was focused, and there was nothing, physical or not, that could make him lose that focus.

He didn't have his apartment anymore, because his hag of a cousin had completely destroyed it, and cursed most of his stuff, but he couldn't even make himself sad over the loss of his adored kitchenette. As if in a wordless agreement, he was staying at the Potters', but they didn't even see him there. He arrived at the same time – the time the Ministry would close – and went to his bedroom. Either Lily or James would bring him dinner to his bedroom, which he would then thank and bid a farewell. He woke up so early that he didn't even see his best friends.

Of course James and Lily knew that Padfoot was under a lot of pressure, but they knew better than force him to slow down and try and make him see that nothing of this was his fault. They ached for telling him something new, but as the Order hadn't gotten any good information, their hands were tied. Finally, Albus told James they had discovered something, and they would go "on a mission" the other day.

Sirius arrived at the Potter Manor around 8 p.m., basically the time he arrived every day. Remus had been missing for little over ten days, but Sirius couldn't make himself stop and rest. He just apparated outside the wards and entered the manor, starting to go upstairs immediately.

"Padfoot?" James voice came from the dining room next to the hall. Sirius froze halfway up the stairs. "Could you come here for a minute, please?" His friend said.

Sirius had a quick internal conflict. He wanted to go and talk to his friends, but he felt he needed to head straight to his bedroom and check again all the properties that belonged to Bellatrix, her husband, her brother-in-law and Lucius Malfoy. Sirius knew he eventually would have to face his friends, who of course were only trying to help. Finally, his loyalty to his friends took over and he went back to the hall, and then entered the large dining room.

Lily was sat at the opposite side from the entrance of the room, her back to the arch that led to the kitchen. James was standing with a baby plate half full of food and a baby spoon, clearly feeding Harry, who was sat at the high baby chair between his parents. The table had dinner on it, but Sirius didn't even have time to register it, since the moment he entered the room, Harry stopped paying attention to his father and looked at him.

"PAFOO!" He shouted, smiling as if he had just seen Father Christmas. Sirius couldn't hold his smile for seeing his beloved godson so happy just because of him. 'I hope I never fail him like I failed Remus.' His smile disappeared as fast as a bulb burning out.

Lily didn't realize it, but James, who knew Sirius better than anyone else, saw through it. He gave the objects to Lily, so she could continue feeding Harry, and got near his friend.

"Padfoot… How are you, mate?" He asked with his eyes full of concern, but Sirius didn't see it, as he kept on looking at Harry. Now that they were close, James could see how affected by the whole kidnap he was. He had deep dark circles around his eyes because the lack of sleep, and he obviously had lost weight.

"I'll be fine as soon as we get Remus back." He answered, his voice nothing more than an audible whisper. James sighed deeply and put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Sirius, pal, have you been sleeping regularly?" James said, his voice careful. He knew his friend was hurting, and it would be better not to push. Sirius took a fast glimpse of his face before nodding and staring at the floor. "Have you been eating?"

"Yes, Prongs, I…" He started, only to be cut out by Lily, to James' utter terror.

"No, he hasn't." Sirius jerked his head up to stare at the woman, his eyes narrowing. She had left the almost empty plate on the table. Harry seemed to understand that this was an important conversation, as he stayed there in silence, looking from his dad to his godfather. "I have seen the dishes Gally brings back from your bedroom, you have barely touched them."

Sirius face rapidly closed into a frown. "So you have been checking how much food I eat, uh?" He said, his eyes flashing dangerously with anger. "I thought I could make myself at home, but it seems…"

"Padfoot, you are home!" James said, desperately.

"Obviously I'm not, James! There's someone checking on my plates!" He turned back to her, his face closed in anger. "What, I don't have the right to eat how much I want, Lily?" He scowled. She just looked surprised by his sudden outburst.

"No, that's not what it is, Sirius…" She said.

"So what is it, then? Why do you have any interest in how much I eat?" He said, still glaring at her. Her famous short temper was running out, and her face was beginning to turn as red as her hair.

"Because we are worried!" She said, frowning as well. James just stared from his wife to his best buddy, his eyes wide in shock.

"Don't worry about me! Just leave me alone!" He said, his voice dangerously low.

"Okay, then, I'll leave you alone!" She shouted. "God, you just think about YOURSELF, Sirius!"

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she regretted it. Sirius took three steps closer to her, and even if both she and James trusted him, and there was the table between them, she took one step back. "Don't you dare raising your voice to me, Evans!" He hissed, his voice poisonous. She felt the fear climbing up her back, and she put her hand over her mouth. "Don't you dare calling me selfish! You have no idea what I've been through these days. So, PLEASE, stop being such a bloody bossy BRAT and leave - me - alone!"

He turned and left the dining room. Both James and Lily looked shocked. Sirius had never showed such deep rage towards them. Of course they trusted him their lives, and both of them knew he would never do anything to hurt Lily. But the sheer anger in his voice shocked them deeply. Every now and then Lily told the marauders off, and most of the times it was Sirius himself who was the target, but he always apologized guiltily or looked like a told off child. This was the first time Lily realized he was an adult. That he actually was a few months older than her. That she just couldn't tell him off, because he had the right to do whatever he wanted.

And that she had been extremely unfair to him.

* * *

Remus didn't know how many times he had passed out. He just knew it had happened a lot and he couldn't wait for the next time. He had been beaten, whipped, cut and cursed, so passing out was a good vacation on oblivion.

He didn't know how long he had been there, and he didn't know where he was, but he surely knew who his attackers were. Show offs like the Death Eaters felt pleasure on showing their faces to those he tortured, so Remus knew exactly to whom those whips belonged, or who had cast that specific spell.

He knew, for a fact, that Snape had been there. Strangely enough, the old enemy of the marauders didn't hurt him at all, saying he was being waited, but would try to come back as soon as possible to 'have a little fun'.

For instance, he knew who was casting the pain curse consuming his whole body just now.

"So, half-breed, are you ready to tell me where the little _disgusting_ prat is?" Bellatrix said, loud enough to be heard even with Remus' screams. She lifted the curse just for him to breath and answer.

Breathing was getting harder and harder, but Remus filled his lungs with air again to answer the question. "N-never!" He said, even his voice trembling.

The curse was back and the little air he had inhaled was gone again. He could hear Bellatrix laughing madly just over him.

"You know, _filthy monster,_ eventually, you'll give up and tell me what I want to know. And then, I'll kill your blood-traitor friends, one by one, in front of you. And then I'll kill the little insect forcing you to watch. And finally, I'll put you in a cell with a dementor. Let's see how long you survive reliving the deaths of your miserable friends."

The whole thing would have shocked Remus deeply. But around the middle of her passionate speech, darkness engulfed him, and he thankfully embraced the painless silence of fainting.

* * *

Severus was still shocked. Only 24 hours ago he had seen one of his childhood enemies being whipped, hurt and cursed at. He despised the man, of course, he almost killed him with his _disease_ after all, but he couldn't help not feeling shaken by the view of someone his age in such shape.

Remus Lupin was something like a bloody mess. His eyes were swollen, his lips cracked in many different spots. His left arm and his right foot were in weird positions and he seemed to be suffering the effects of a progressive curse.

Severus taught the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff third years with as little interest as possible. In fact, he wasn't teaching at all, but rather walking around and seeing how well the students were brewing the Shrinking Solution they were supposed to. The class was a review, so he didn't have to say anything, which pleased the man deeply.

Discovering where Lupin was, and actually going there wasn't easy at all. The other Death Eaters did not trust him, so he had to invent some story about the Dark Lord so they would let him go there. Even with the false information he was using, Lucius had to intervene quite a few times before everybody accepted his presence.

"Ten points from Hufflepuff. Clean this mess and disappear from here." A stupid girl did something wrong and some of the potion spilled all over her table.

It took him about one day to find someone who would let him get to the place where the werewolf was being held. He didn't think he would make it, but Dumbledore kept on telling him to have faith, and in the end the old man ended up being right.

Now, it was just a matter of time so they would save the man. Severus Snape inhaled deeply. He was tired of this game, the whole thing was giving him a headache and his humor was foul. Well, he might as well cheer himself up. He grinned and started scolding some students.

'Ah, it's good to scold children.' He thought in contentment.

* * *

Sirius was lying on his bed. After all he had been through just to come up and continue working, he found himself unable to do anything more. He was so angry with the whole situation he could barely keep himself from going back to Lily and shouting more at her, but of course he knew none of this her fault. He was angry at her not because she created this whole mess, but only because of what she said and the way she said it.

He felt bad for shouting at his friend, his sister-in-law, but he didn't regret what he said. He, selfish? Maybe. Probably most of the time. But if once in his life he hadn't been thinking about himself, it was now. All he cared about was finding Remus.

Remus... His other best friend, compainion for every time. James may be his best friend, his brother in everything but blood, but Remus was his haven. Whenever he needed support, there Remus Lupin was. And because of him, Sirius Bloody Black, Remus' life was in danger.

Every time he closed his eyes he remember the moment in which he left his best friend behind. He didn't want to, but he just couldn't avoid it. And then his masochist mind would start creating the image of Remus being tortured and then finally being killed. No different than all the other times, his eyes filled themselves with tears.

A soft knock on his bedroom's door brought him back, snapping him from his pitiful trance. It had to be James. The elves would not go to his room, and Lily... Well, Lily wouldn't go talk to him just now, right? Or would she? Before deciding whether to answer the door or not, it opened and James walked in, closing it behind him.

Sirius couldn't help feeling worried about his friend's reaction to having his wife shouted at, but James just looked calm. Concerned, if anything, but he kept himself from saying anything and just stood there, staring at his friend, not in an awkward way, but some way that didn't upset Sirius at all. After a minute that seemed to have been an hour and could be remembered as a second, the dog animagus sighed and moved so he was sat on the large bed. He met his friends eyes and nodded slightly, inviting James to sit, which he did.

Another minute passed before Sirius decided to speak.

"Prongs, mate, I-I'm sorry for shouting at your wife..." He started

"Padfoot, I have already told you I'm not going to take sides. I never have, and I never will. I understand both of you, and I'll just wait for you two to settle things down. If you and her never spoke to each other again..." James said, only to be cut by his friend.

"What? Come on, Prongsie, this is nothing, we surely will be ok in just..."

"I know, Padfoot..." James said, sighing. "What I mean is, IF, and I pretty much doubt it, not to say hope it doesn't happen, you two start hating each other, you'll keep being my brother, and she'll keep being my wife."

Sirius barely nodded. He actually didn't know what to say.

"I didn't come here to talk about Lily, though." Prongs continued after some time of silence. "She asked me to tell you she's sorry, but the reason for me to be here is not this one. the real reason is... We care for you, Paddie... It hurts us not having Remus around, and knowing he's in danger, but, sincerely, it feels like we've lost two of our best friends. Three, if you consider..." James' expression darkened as he stopped speaking. Sirius sighed.

"It's j-just..." the tears were back, which upset Sirius even more. He had promised himself, after the events that led him to move in with the Potters, that he wouldn't cry. And there he was, crying. "I-I don't know w-what to do, James. I feel this is all my fault, and I have no one to help me..."

"Sirius! How can you say such a thing? The order's here for you. Frank and Alice are here for you. Dumbledore is here for you. Jesus, not to mention me and Lily! All we want is to help you!" James said, his voice sometimes reaching some high piches.

"You and Lily have each other to take care, Prongsie. I mean, I reckon it all boils down to this, in fact. You and Lily have yourselves to take care. And then there's Harry, who doesn't deserve losing attention for anything in this world. and here I stand, lonely. I know I'm not alone, but I feel lonely, no matter how much attention you and Lily and Harry give me. R-Remus has been my safe haven for as far as I can tell. You, James, were the first person to show me what happiness is. Without you I would be eternally sad. On the other hand, Remus taught me what it means to be safe. And without him, I feel... b-broken! Useless! Worthless! H-he always t-tells me what to d-do. H-he he-helps me. And now, I don't know what to d-do and h-he's not h-here for m-me." Sirius didn't know when he started crying, but when he finally stopped speaking, his whole body was shaking because of his sobs. He was in pain, a lasting, nasty pain, and there was nothing he could do against it.

James side hugged his brother, putting an arm over his shoulders.

"Listen, Sirius. Dumbledore found some information on where Remus might be. We're going there tomorrow. It might be nothing, but at least we're doing something."

Sirius stopped crying and jerked his head up. "Where? Where, James? I tried everywhere!"

"It seems like it's property that belongs to your cousin Narcissa." Sirius felt like slapping his forehead. how could he have missed this?

"What time?"

"Just before sunset." James said.

Then, the two marauders stayed in silence for some minutes. Finally, Sirius opened his mouth.

"Prongs..." His voice wasn't louder than a whisper. "Thanks for listening. I-I guess it helped putting everything out of my chest..."

"This is way I'm here, Pads. Every time you need, pal... Every single time. Always." James gave his friend a warm smile and stood up, still facing Sirius, who smiled back. A thin, shaky, hesitant smile, but still a smile.

"And now, I'm leaving. Rest, we have lots to do tomorrow. And Padfoot, I'm thrilled to see you're so in touch with your feminine side, but care not to get too girly, okay?" James said, grinning. Sirius barked a small laugh and threw a pillow at his best friend. But then, the pillow hit the door, already closed after James left. Walking back to his bedroom, James felt a bit better for hearing his friend laughing. It had been such a long time without any laughs from Sirius...

Sadly, James also noticed how Sirius' mouth extremities didn't go even nearly close to his eyes.

* * *

A.N.: A short, SHORT chapter. The shortest so far. I'm sooo sorry I set up a date, but had to change it... I hate when the authors do it, and I ended up doing it myself.

The reasons why I had such a small chapter: The next one is Remus' rescue. I didn't want to start just now. Another thing, I've been feeling a bit undermotivated to continue, and I'm starting to get some early signs of a writer's block because of this. I'm happy with the attention **Choices **is getting so far, but the lack of feedback is a bit frustrating. And the fact that my life's been hectic these days isn't helping either.

A special SUPER thanks for everybody who reviewed, followed and favorited so far. You guys are great, and I check each and every one of you. Special thanks to **EmilyMoo23, narniaandharrypotter4ever** and **lise pretter**, the first reviewers of chapter 07. Thank you for your attention. And I'm thrilled to announce that Dan's back! I missed you, honey! x*

ADVERTISEMENT TIME! Guys, please, check this story out: _Harry Potter and the Rise of Lord Slytherin_, by **creativeant**. The link's in my profile. IT'S AWESOME, and it surely deserves a few minutes of your attention. Check it out!

Cheers!


	9. Friends, friends, friends

**Choices**

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner. If it belonged to me, all the Marauders would be alive. =)

**EDIT: Sorry for uploading this chapter again. I stupidly ended up deleting it instead of just replacing it, I'm so very sorry about it.**

**Anyways, now the chapter is properly double checked, I hope you don't get to find too many mistakes. I would like to add, though, that if you find this story too stupid for your 'high standards', please, try another one, will ya? But if you want to help, be helpful and not rude. Fanfiction is a free time activity we do for fun. The moment I start to feel bad because of this, I'll just erase everything and go do something else. It may seem that the characters are doing something stupid is this chapter, but WHY DON'T YOU WAIT to see if it's not something previously planned, huh? **

**Respect the other people, guys. Nobody deserves your free rudeness.**

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_"And now, I'm leaving. Rest, we have lots to do tomorrow. And Padfoot, I'm thrilled to see you're so in touch with your feminine side, but care not to get too girly, okay?" James said, grinning. Sirius barked a small laugh and threw a pillow at his best friend. But then, the pillow hit the door, already closed after James left. Walking back to his bedroom, James felt a bit better for hearing his friend laughing. It had been such a long time without any laughs from Sirius..._

_Sadly, James also noticed how Sirius' mouth extremities didn't go even nearly close to his eyes._

* * *

The following morning started extra early. Not only the Order had a lot of preparations to do so that the raid would work, but the tension created by the prospect of a combat didn't let anybody sleep much further.

At Potter Manor, the day started even earlier. Sirius woke up little after 05:00 a.m., which meant he had slept way more than the last few days. He took a shower and got dressed calmly and, as he made it to the kitchen, he was surprised to find Lily and Harry already there. Harry seemed to have woken up not so long before, and Lily was probably preparing a bottle of milk – something she always did herself instead of asking the elves.

Sirius watched her focused on preparing her son's morning milk, and started thinking about the night before. Was it too soon to talk to her? Would he know everything he had to tell her? He knew he would have to talk to his friend sooner or later, and evidently time wouldn't help it at all, but…

Sirius didn't know if he stayed a long time thinking, but before he came to a decision, Lily turned and saw him. Her eyes widened and, if she had any sleeping traces before, they were all gone now. Their eyes met and while her expression was of total surprise, his was calm but unusually serious.

"Good morning, Lily." He said. It neither sounded harsh, nor soft. It sounded… neutral. He broke the eye contact and moved to the refrigerator to get something to eat. Deep inside, though, he was wondering why he hadn't stayed in bed.

"M-morning…" Lily stuttered, her voice a whisper. She kept on watching him getting stuff out of the refrigerator and placing them carefully on the table. Ham, cheese, mayonnaise, bread... He was obviously thinking about making a sandwich. The silence was palpable on the room, and even Harry, who was fast asleep again on his baby chair, didn't make any sound.

After some full minutes in that deep, disturbing silence, Lily decided she had to get it all out of her chest.

"Sirius… I'm so sorry for last night. I-I… regret it immensely…" she said, looking at his direction. Her eyes were full of pain, but Sirius didn't see it, as he kept on making his sandwich, not even glancing up to look at her. Lily kept on waiting for him to say something, and after a few minutes, he finally decided what he could say.

"We all did something we regret yesterday, Lily. Don't think about it too hard."

Apology not accepted. That much was clear for Lily Potter, nee Evans. She felt her heart breaking in even tinier pieces as she understood that this was why more serious than she thought. "I can't, Sirius. Guilt is eating me from inside out…" She started

"Oh, so now you know how it feels like, then?" He snapped, finally looking back at her. Despite the harsh words, his tone wasn't as aggressive as it could have been. "Imagine if you had put my life in danger, now."

"You didn't put Remus' life in danger, Sirs." She said.

"I don't want to talk about this, Lily." He said, going back to the preparation of his ham-and-cheese sandwich. Lily sighed deeply.

"You're right and I'm sorry. But please, Sirius, tell me what I can do to make it up to you for last night…" She pleaded.

Sirius looked again at her. His face was so uncharacteristically emotionless that Lily even stopped breathing. "There's nothing you can do, Lily. I'm not angry at you. Not really, at least. This whole situation put me in some situations that I wouldn't like to be. I do regret shouting at you, but I meant every single word. I'm an adult as well, Lily. I know you sometimes don't trust me, with Harry, for example, because you think I'm too childish, that I would screw things up. And then you try to teach me things, how to act, how to do stuff. The thing is, Lily, I've been through way more than you have. You know a lot of the things I suffered when I was a child, either because I told you, or because James did. You're probably the one who knows the most after him and Remus, then. But you know only the tip of the iceberg. And that's why you might understand why I care so much about my friends, and about having fun. But you'll never see the whole reason why, nor will you understand the dimensions of it."

A '_hush' _of air showed her that she had started breathing again. However, she didn't even pay attention to it, as the only thing in her mind was a big '_OUCH'_. Lily felt the tears stinging the back of her eyes, and she knew they were probably already rolling freely without her consent.

"I-I… Don't know what to say, Sirius. I haven't imagined, I-I guess…" She looked at the floor. "You're like a brother to me, Sirius…"

"And you're like a sister to me, Lily-flower." She raised her head back up. He had a mouth full of sandwich, but he also had a small grin on his lips. "But that doesn't mean you can treat me like your son, okay? You have the best son ever, just over here. Teach him how to be a good person. I might as well be a lost case."

Lily smiled, relieved. She imagined she had been forgiven the moment he got all he wanted to say out.

"Does... Does that mean you forgive me?" She said, carefully. Sirius watched her for a few seconds, but kept his grin.

"I guess I have to, right?" He said, joking.

Without even thinking, she took a step and hugged him, being hugged back almost immediately, as if he had been waiting for it. "You'll never be a lost case for us, Sirs." She said, her voice barely audible because of his t-shirt.

He let her go and she took a step back, both of them smiling. "Well…" She said. "I have to go get my husband. He promised me he would feed Harry today, so…" She put her hand on Sirius' chest for some seconds and turned around. When she reached the arch that led to the dining room, though, she stopped and turned around again. "But if you drip mayonnaise on the floor, I'll force you to lick it as Padfoot, alright?" She then went snatch her husband, leaving her friend laughing behind.

* * *

If Sirius was any happy in the morning with Lily, James and Harry, now, a few minutes before leaving to the rescue of his best friend, he would highly doubt it. The Order had gathered itself at Potter Manor, using it as sort of a headquarter. Dumbledore told them very little about the place they were going to, so the only thing they knew was that it was located in a forest not too far from the borders of the Wales.

Actually, Albus told them very little about the whole plan before going to the Weasleys' house to tell the other members about the raid, so James, Frank and Sirius spent the whole day thinking about some of the old plans of action they used when they were all aurors and went on missions together. Now, they remembered all the codes they used, and even created a few more, and they spent quite a long time dueling against each other so they could be in shape. Neither of the three liked to plan raids and these things, even though they were, of course, good at it. So, as Dumbledore himself decided to prepare the whole thing, they appreciated the fact that they just had to stay there and get their magic ready.

Moments before the raid, the living room was crowded. Joining the attack were James, Sirius, Frank Longbottom, Arthur Weasley, Alastor Moody, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, three aurors who were close to the marauders and friendly towards the Order and, as strange as it may seem, Dumbledore himself.

As most of the members joining the rescue were fathers of really young children, the mothers would stay at the new headquarters, waiting for the whole thing to end, so the men wouldn't have to worry about their safety and they had a common place to return to. So, apart from Harry and Lily, there was Alice and Neville, Molly and 11 years old Bill, 9 years old Charlie, 5 years old Percy, the twins Fred and George, 3 years old each, recently turned 2 Ron and almost 1 Ginny. Harry was ecstatic with all those children to play, and he seemed incapable of deciding with whom he would play first.

After a lot of reviewing of the steps everybody should take, Albus stood up. Pretty much everybody felt their hearts going up at the same pace.

"Well, we have one hour before sunset at the Forest of Serriat. I'd rather get going." He said, with a small smile on his lips. Almost no one smiled back as they gathered on a circle around the coffee table in the centre of the room. On the table there was a piece of rope that they would use as portkey to somewhere close to the small house Snape had discovered as Remus' whereabouts.

Of course, tension was hanging in the air. They wanted to save Remus, of course, but every single one of them knew how dangerous these things were, so they couldn't help feeling the dread that was climbing their backs.

At his command, everybody held the piece of rope and Dumbledore touched it with his wand lightly. People bid their farewells, husbands kissed their wives and kids, and after a few minutes that seemed like seconds, the portkey activated.

The group arrived in the middle of a clearing. Nothing very further could be seen, as the trees were tall and large, but they knew exactly where they were, because Dumbledore had showed them a set of maps in which he planned the whole attack. Arthur, Hestia, Frank and one of the aurors, named Proudfoot, entered the forest so they could get to the other side of the cabin in which the Death Eaters were. The others followed the single path that there was leading out of the clearing.

According to Dumbledore, what gave them the chance of being successful was the surprise factor. If they acted fast, they would probably be able to snatch Remus and get out as fast as possible.

Soon enough Dumbledore made them stop. That was where the wards around the cabin he had mentioned were, it seemed. The old headmaster smiled, looking the path ahead, as if it were some kind of an interesting riddle. Most of the people couldn't understand why the headmaster was so... interested in a clear path. But those who were stronger magically, such as James and Moody, and those who were taught to recognize powerful spells such as Sirius, knew there was something there.

"You see, my dearest friends..." He said with a chuckle. "I think Voldemort himself hid this place. These wards are very strong, indeed. But the fact that this place is so hidden, and the nature of the protection, made his followers a little bit too over-confident." Dumbledore seemed rather excited about the whole thing.

"What do you mean, professor?" One of the aurors asked. His name was Savage.

"Well, my dear boy, it's quite simple, actually. These wards will repel anybody whose soul doesn't bear the Dark Mark, and inform whoever is inside that they are under attack." Albus answered, his eyes sparkling at the brilliancy of the foul shield.

"You can break it, can't you, Sir?" Emmeline asked. The headmaster smiled and raised his wand.

"I think so, miss Vance." Then, he started whispering words in latin, two or three at a time. Slow, lazy, multicolored lights left his wand and simply disappeared in thin air. After the fifth spell, the ward shone and revealed itself. It seemed to be a black veil that you could see through. The others just watched Dumbledore working. Soon, he started moving his hand and creating invisible shapes in the air. The spells became so many and so fast they were barely visible. And then, after a sharp vertical cut of Dumbledore's wand, the wall broke. but instead of disappearing, its shattered pieces came back together and formed a skull with a serpent as tongue.

Everybody held their breaths. The Dark Mark represented everything they feared the most. After all, arriving at home and seeing the Dark Mark hovering above it represented the inevitable loss of one's whole family. With one or two fast spells from Albus, the Dark Mark broke again, finally disappearing.

"Okay, time to move on." Moody said. "Let's cast the Disillusionment spell, and remember: CONSTANT VIGILANCE! And if and when I tell you to return to Potter Manor, do as I say!" They seemed to disappear under their spells and kept on going further. Not long after, they saw the cabin. It was square, all made of a different kind of black wood. It had two simple windows at its front, and a large two side door. But the most outstanding characteristic of the house was the painting around said door: A large green Dark Mark.

The image on the door actually gave everyone the impression that, when the person entered the house, this person would have entered the Dark Mark, which couldn't possibly mean something good.

"Prepare yourselves, boys." Came Dumbledore's voice a little to the front of the others. Then, from the exact same spot where the voice came, a blue light was shot, hitting the door with a loud sound that trembled the whole house, and consequently the area around, as if an earthquake was happening. Shouts could be heard from inside.

It had begun.

* * *

Lily, Alice and Molly were having tea at the living room. Even so full of children, the house was relatively silent. James Potter's Manor had its enchantments to all kinds of people, so everybody found something interesting to keep themselves entertained. Harry, Ron and Neville got along so well they were together from moment one and didn't seem eager to start the procedures to got to bed. They talked in their baby language and seemed perfectly capable of understanding each other. They were playing with Harry's toys, and were surprisingly sharing everything nicely.

Fred and George were exploring the big mansion. It was so big they probably wouldn't have time it explore it all before bedtime. Alice and Lily were actually very surprised how brave the two three year olds were, toddling around that big house alone. For their safety, though, Gally was asked to watch over them, which he did, proudly mentioning how many Potter boys he had looked after. Both Lily and Alice, who knew James since he was 11, knew that that was saying something.

Percy seemed to have a knack for studying. He already had the basic knowledge on how to read and was devouring some comic books he had brought. Bill and Charlie were playing gobstones in the large entrance hall, and they could be seen from where the women were sat. Bill, not wanting to upset his baby brother, always helped him so they were tied most of the time.

So the quietness allowed the women to speak. The only problem was Ginny. Lily couldn't help but notice how much the baby girl cried. It had been barely an hour and the girl had already cried three times! Lily internally thanked God for having such a calm son.

"So, Molly, Bill is going to Hogwarts in September, right?" Alice asked. Molly suddenly looked sad.

"Well, yes, I guess he is. I think he's so young! But he's eleven already. I guess it's time..."

"I imagine how difficult it must be, Molly, but think about all the fun he'll have there." Lily said.

"Oh, how I miss Hogwarts..." Alice said, smiling and staring at nothing, mirth evident on her face and eyes.

Molly chuckled. "I guess so... but..." Her expression darkened again as she frowned. "but the times we are living... It don't know, I'm so worried about his safety... You know, we decided to enter the Order after my brothers were killed last year. I can't help but feel that maybe we should just... protect them, you know? Make them stay with us. I worry all the time, even if they're there, right under my nose..."

"It's understandable, dear. But you can't let fear take over." Lily said, even if she had a large lump of fear on her throat since the others left.

"And you can't forget that Albus, Minerva and Filius are all there. I guess he is safer at Hogwarts then here, with us." Alice added.

"I know but... what if something bad happens...What if, for example, they don't return today?" Molly said, her voice a whisper.

"They will." Lily snapped, speaking loudly. "They will return" She said again softly, mostly to herself. She wondered why her throat hurt so bloody much, though.

* * *

Remus couldn't move. Not because he was tied in that specific position or something like this, but because he lacked the energy to do so. After so much torturing and bashing, and also the almost starvation he was submitted, his strength was completely drained. He could actually feel his life starting to slip through his fingers, but he also couldn't make himself care about it. 'At least', he thought, 'I was able to keep my friends as safe as possible'.

In the werewolf's opinion, that thought alone was the only thing that didn't let him lose hope and die. That was the thought that soothed the pain when it became too unbearable, heated him up when he was too cold, fed him when he was too hungry. And Bellatrix seemed to know this.

"Why do you care about those filthy blood-traitors, _nasty monster_?" There she was, one more time, trying to break the only thing Remus had to hold for his dear life. In the first few days, he would grunt or snarl every time she said something like that. But today, after so much, he just couldn't do it. So he just let her continue, without paying attention.

While she rant about his friends once more, Remus thought about his situation. Of course he knew it was bad, but he also knew that they didn't want to kill him. He was the only one...

_Pain from the cruciatus curse_...

He was the only one who could give the Death Eaters a lead on where the Potters and Black were. And Bellatrix wanted to find them as soon as possible, as the ritual could get her killed if she didn't. That's why they were torturing him less these last few days. And he even got an almost full meal the day before.

"PAY ATTENTION!" Bellatrix shrieked. "CRUCIO!" Pain filled Remus' body once more, but he couldn't even make himself scream. Even after the spell was lifted, he couldn't stop shaking. Actually, everything seemed to be shaking.

He just noticed that there was something strange happening when he felt that it wasn't him who was shaking, but the whole room. "What the bloody hell is happening?" Bellatrix asked out loud, to herself of course. She then left the room and Remus alone.

* * *

Dumbledore's spell was meant to draw all the Death Eaters out, which worked to perfection. The Order didn't know how many or who they were, but some of the expected faces showed up: Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolohov. The good guys were slightly outnumbered, but the fact that they weren't expected ended up saving them and giving them a small but necessary help. As soon as Voldemort's followers stepped outside the house, they fell, hexed or cursed by the members of the Order.

Not long after, though, the Death Eaters understood what was happening and started to fire back. They even managed to break the Disillusionment spells somehow.

James and Sirius then threw the Invisibility cloak over themselves and stayed behind. According to their plan, they had to wait for an opportunity to go into the house to rescue Remus.

The battle was in heat. Dumbledore was fighting Bellatrix, Lucius and Dolohov. Even though Lucius was almost pathetic as a wizard, Bellatrix and Dolohov were excellent duelists. Dumbledore could shield himself from almost all the curses, but the real problem was when they sent the killing curse or another unforgivable at the old Headmaster. As they couldn't be stopped, he had to dodge, what ended up tiring his old body fast.

James and Sirius tried to help as much as possible without being seen. For example, James saw that Emmeline was in danger because the Death Eater against whom she was dueling managed to get her disarmed. A well calculated hex from his wand and James had her enemy stunned.

The duels where, in a lack of another word to describe it, magnificent. Frank Longbottom was duelling a very tall man who had his face covered by the Death Eaters mask. Both of them were excellent duelists, and the spells and curses and hexes left their wands so fast that they didn't even had time to say any words.

James and Sirius watched Moody dueling against another Death Eater, Yaxley.

"Avada kedavra!" Yaxley shot towards Moody. The head auror jumped and rolled, but as standing miliseconds after, pointing his wand to his enemy.

"Stupefy!" he said. The red spell flew towards Yaxley who shielded himself, sending it back to Alastor.

Shaking his wand lightly, Moody ended his own spell and shot another one, this time nonverbally. The surprise forced Yaxley to jump out of the way. He shouted "Impedimenta!" but the lack of aiming made the spell miss.

"Stupefy!" Alastor shouted, but as the spell left his wand, he flickered his wrist and whispered. "Diffindo."

Yaxley could bock Moody's stuporing spell, but cried in surprise when his wand hand was cut deeply. He dropped his wand and his eyes enlarged, but he didn't even have time to react before he was blasted backwards when Moody's nonverbal hex hit him in the chest. He fell not so far away but didn't move.

Even though they were helping, staying there without actually fighting was slowly killing both of them. They wanted nothing more than throw the cloak away and join their friend. James, who hadn't participated in any combats since going hiding watched everything eagerly, and felt frustrated as he could only cast a few spells to help the others and to protect themselves from errant ones.

"Prongs! I think it's time to go inside!" Sirius said suddenly. His voice was firm and without any hint of the normal joke it had. James turned to face the hut and saw that the only person between them and the entrance of the cabin was Narcissa, Sirius cousin. As they got near her, they could see that she was actually very scared, her eyes big as plates, and pointing her wand to as many directions as possible.

"I'll deal with her, Padfoot. You go inside and find Remus, okay?" James whispered. Sirius looked at his brother as if he wanted to disagree.

"Are you sure Prongs?" Sirius said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

James smiled.

"Go find Remus, Padfoot. He needs you. I'll be alright." And then he stepped out of the cloak.

By seeing a man materializing from thin air almost made Narcissa drop her wand. And the fact that the man was none other than James Potter himself didn't help either. She cast a spell at him that was easily deflected with a flick of his wand. She tried again and again and he just ended her spells as soon as they left her wand. She tried another curse and this time he not only protected himself, but also, with an extra swish of his hand, cast a wordless spell that hit her on her leg. She hissed in pain and had to hold her whole body on her other leg.

"You are not going to beat me, Narcissa." James said. He wasn't smiling or taunting her, he was simply stating a fact, so the whole sentence made the woman unwittingly shiver. Suddenly, James saw something moving not so far to her left. He cast a not so strong spell at the woman so she didn't pay attention to him and turned to see who was there. What he saw made him smile.

After barely managing to protect herself from the curse, Narcissa turned to watch James, and saw he wasn't pointing his wand to her anymore, but some point to her left. She turned her head slightly and her heart almost stopped. Not so close to her was baby Draco, having James' wand pointed at him. His eyes were red from crying, but now he was sat on the ground, quietly watching the man with the wand. Narcissa yield and cast as many curses as possible at her foe.

Acting fast, James shielded himself from all her curses and quickly disarmed her, summoning her wand to him. Narcissa started crying, but didn't move as she saw him pointing now both wands to the baby.

"Please... please, don't kill him..." She pleaded, still crying. James looked at her.

"I would never kill a child, Narcissa Black." A fast thought told him she was a Malfoy now, but he couldn't care less. "And if, God forbid, I ever have to, I wouldn't do it in front of his mother or father." Narcissa got in such a shock that she almost stopped crying. "I'm not a monster, but your _lord_ is. He wanted to kill my baby, Narcissa, my baby who is as young as yours. And he would prefer to do it in front of me and my wife. How can you, a mother yourself, accept something like this?"

Narcissa stood there, her eyes bigger than saucers, panting as if she had run miles and miles. The tears were falling, but she wasn't shaking as much anymore.

"Grab your son, Narcissa. And disappear. Go somewhere else. Run away. But think about this: If HE wants to do this to my family, who's to say yours isn't the next?" James said. Narcissa slightly nodded and ran to her son. Barely grabbing him, she disappeared.

James sighed deeply and entered the house.

* * *

Sirius could barely see his way around the dark rooms. According to Snape's bits of information, Remus was probably being kept at the dungeons, and he had studied Dumbledore's map the whole afternoon so he knew the place by heart.

The first room was a not so big living room, with an unlit fireplace, two armchairs, an old sofa and a rug. It would be comfy, Sirius thought, if it weren't a Death Eater hideout. The following room to his right was a dining room that had only a large table with many chairs around it. On the opposite side of the entrance of the dining room there was a door. Sirius ran to the door and opened it. It was the stairway to the dungeons.

If he couldn't see his way around upstairs, where the windows let in some of the last sunlight of that day, down there he couldn't see at all. "Lumos." The tip of the wand shone and it allowed him to see the small room. The ceiling was so low that he almost couldn't stay inside standing. It was completely empty, except for two columns in the middle of the room, and a person tied to one of said columns. "Remus!" Sirius cried, running to the man.

Remus was way more awake than he had been for the last few days. His whole body ached, and he knew something wasn't right. He opened his mouth to mention it to Sirius. He knew what was wrong, of course, but he couldn't found out he couldn't speak. The lack of water and rest and food finally seemed to have defeated him. His eyes tried to show his fear to Sirius, but his friend could only see the bad situation he was at. He saw Sirius crying, but couldn't even feel relief for being saved. The fear and the sudden anger were everything inside him.

It took a while for Sirius to break the thick chains holding his friend to the column. After many spells, he was finally able to lift problem was his friend could barely stayed on his feet, much less walk, so Sirius just lifted him and took him upstairs. The adrenaline made him care him as if he had cast a featherweight spell.

Upon getting to the living room, Sirius found James just entering the house.

"How are things outside?" Sirius asked, as James helped him put Remus on his feet and carry him with his arms over their shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I was dueling against your cousin. She had her son here, so I let her take him and go." James replied. Sirius nodded lightly.

"Let's get the hell out of here. This house gives me the creeps, and I think old Moony here needs some care."

As soon as they got out of the house, though, they saw the combats weren't over yet. Sirius noticed that Frank, Moody and Arthur were fighting three different Death Eaters, three on three, and Dumbledore was still dueling against Bellatrix and Dolohov. Lucius was on the ground, without moving though. The rest of the order was on one-on-one combats.

James, though, was worried with something else entirely. "Sirius, let go of Remus." he said, his voice calm, but the urgency there.

"What? Why?" but as Sirius spoke, he realized how dark it was. But not as dark as it would normally be. With curiosity, he looked up, and what he saw made his heart stop beating. He barely had time to register when he felt James tackling him and them both rolling on the ground. Somebody screamed "DISAPPARATE!" and large pops were heard, either coming from the Order or the Death Eaters.

Sirius heard a faint _'shush'_ and suddenly, where his friend had been on top of him, there was a beautiful stag. He moved his head and saw Remus transforming.

'It's a full moon!' was his last thought before transforming himself into Padfoot.

* * *

**A.N.**: Hey guys, there you have, as promised, a new chapter. Thank you so much for the awesome feedback. I would also want to apologize for putting a 'prerequisite' such as this. It won't happen again. From now on I'll set a date and a limit of reviews. If I get the quantity of reviews, I'll update earlier. If I don't, you have the date set, okay?

Thank you for all the reviews. And I showed the Weasleys a bit, hope I pleased those who like them. I cannot show them a lot, though, becasue they just met the Potters...

Anyways, next chapter is the last on this period of time. We'll probably then skip a couple of years, and I'll introduce the only OC of this story. Yeah, I don't like OCs, cuz I like to keep the story as close to canon as possible, so there will be only one major and regular OC. I hope you like him/her. =P

**Ahh, Ill have something in the future, and I'll need to kill 2 of the 'good guys'. But I'll let you choose who you'd like to save and who you'd like to kill. I'm not going to tell you who, but some people are not eligible for killing or saving, but most of them are. Well, let me hear who you like and who you don't like enough to save. ;)**

Hope to see you soon!

MSupernatural


	10. Aftermath

**Choices**

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. If it did, James and Lily Potter would be alive.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_Sirius heard a faint 'shush' and suddenly, where his friend had been on top of him, there was a beautiful stag. He moved his head and saw Remus transforming._

_'It's a full moon!' was his last thought before transforming himself into Padfoot._

* * *

Not long after getting dark, the kids were sent to their beds and tucked in. Lily felt really relieved for Potter Manor having so many spare bedrooms, otherwise there wouldn't be enough rooms for everybody.

The children were very tired, as the day had started really early, so they didn't complain that much when their mothers decided that time was up. Fred and George cried a bit though, but Molly said it was just a scene. After a sharp look from their mother, they swallowed their tearless cries and went to bed rather excitedly. Alice and Lily couldn't help but feel amazed how intelligent the two little boys were. They couldn't even speak clearly, but they surely could get things done the way they wanted.

Harry, Ron and Neville were in Harry's nursery, and after so much playing, they slept quickly. Charlie seemed to be having problems to sleep alone in the dark, so he and Bill were sharing a room.

The mothers sat around the fireplace chatting, trying to make themselves entertained so they wouldn't think about their husbands and friends and the dangers they might be facing. Conversation topics were varied: School times, Routine, Children… But eventually they started talking about the Order again.

"When I was told that my brothers had died, I remember I was in deep shock." Molly said. She had a cup of tea in her hand, and just the thought of that terrible day made her shiver enough to shake the porcelain saucer. "I have to admit I got extremely angry at the Order for it, but then I realized it was You-Know-Who's fault."

"Frank actually had doubts if we were doing the right thing when his mother was… you know…" Alice lowered her head and kept her gaze on the floor. She seemed lost in her own thoughts for a while before continuing speaking. "But then, we decided we were far too in to back out now."

"Well, I and James tried to end with the Order, as you remember." She said a bit too harshly. In one of the first the meetings after the attack, Lily and James said that they thought the Order didn't need to go on anymore, as Voldemort was apparently gone. However, Dumbledore didn't agree with them, as he believed the Dark Lord would return soon enough, so Harry and the Potters should be protected, and Bellatrix Lestrange's threat shouldn't be overlooked. Needless to say, everybody agreed to continue with the group, which didn't make the Potters happy. They felt they were disturbing people's life, and putting most of them in danger, something neither of them could accept.

"Oh, Lily, I have to say I agree with Dumbledore on that one…" Alice said. Lily just grunted. "If the Order didn't exist, then we would be in pretty bad shape, right? With all this going on…" her voice started dying.

"Dumbledore is a wise man…" Molly said. "A bit loony, but still very wise… I will never forget the day he came to tell me my brothers had… passed away. It was terrible, but he surely helped make it less… hurtful, I guess."

"Yes." Alice added, absentminded again. "When he told Frank, he mentioned all these stories that I didn't know about Augusta…"

"When we joined the Order, he gave us an introduction, told us everything we needed to know. He actually organized a meeting so we could get to know everybody." Molly continued.

"When was that?" Alice asked, curious.

"Not long after your two families went into hiding. He heard everything you were going through, and I remember telling Arthur how bad I felt for you, but how I would have done the same thing in your place." Molly had tears in her eyes. Lily and Alice smiled at her, trying to show her their appreciation.

"I am sure I know how you felt in the first meetings. Overwhelming, isn't it?" The three girls giggled bitterly.

"I can't tell you how I felt!" Molly laughed lightly, but humourlessly. "But Dumbledore helped even with this. He always goes to the Burrow to inform us of the next steps of the Order. For example, today, in the morning, he himself went there to tell us about the raid. I'm glad we can help, but it's a pity they decided to do it today. Albus was irreducible about the date, though…"

"Why? Did you have anything special to do?" Alice said, still smiling.

"Well, Arthur and Bill discovered a Mooncalf burrow near our house one of these days, and it was still there. We thought it would be a nice family time watching it dancing, but as it only dances on full moon days, I guess we missed it. I also wanted to harvest some mooncalf dung to apply on our vegetables as well, but…"

Lily wasn't listening anymore. She couldn't believe she had missed it. That she, James and Sirius had missed it. Mooncalves only dance under the full moon. Which is tonight. Which meant that… Lily turned to Alice and saw her friend staring back at her, her eyes large and the fear evident on her face. Both of them stood up, which ended up startling Molly.

"…maybe we can watch it together next mon… Girls? What's up?" Molly looked from one to the other. She seemed surprised, but not frightened. 'Of course she isn't.' Lily thought. 'Only I, the Marauders, Alice and Frank know about Remus'… Furry problem. We and… Dumbledore.'

When Lily had set up her mind to yell in desperation, she felt the members of the Order entering the wards. She, Alice and Molly ran to the entrance to wait for their family and friends. One of them was anxious and excited. The other two were trying not to throw up because of fear.

* * *

When you are an animagus, you are able to maintain your ability to think straight, and decide what you want to do. But there is one special thing that can hinder some of your mental faculties: Instinct. You get the same instincts your animal counterpart would have, which can befuddle the wizard or witch during their first transformations. After spending some time in their animal form, however, the person ends up getting used to some of those instincts, which can help them control their animal bodies.

The only problem seemed to be that, after many transformations, said instincts got so intrinsic that the person would generally end up developing a new habit related to their animals.

That's mainly the reason why Sirius barked went he laughed, James had very quick reactions, such as jumping out of the way, when he got surprised (People generally thought he was a really jumpy person, though), and Pettigrew lowered his back and put his hand over his face like a rodent when frightened. Sirius used to say that, if somebody scratched Minerva McGonagall's ear, she would purr, but, obviously, they were never brave, or stupid, enough to test it.

But some instincts were common to almost all animals. And self-preservation was one of those. James and Sirius were having a hard time trying to control their own fear, a strong and dark dread that made their animal forms want to run the opposite direction from the one they were going. They thought, 'follow Remus', but the stag and the dog thought, 'run from the big, bad wolf'.

Of course they had accompanied Remus many, many times before, but that time, it was completely different. This was not the Dark Forest, so they didn't know where they were going, or what they could find ahead. They knew for sure that the forest was a magical one, because Prongs had found some fairies and Padfoot was sure he saw something too big for that kind of forest moving nearby. Even the werewolf seemed to recognize the magic of that area.

But the forest was not the only problem. Only people who actually knew werewolves knew that, even though the person couldn't control their counterpart, they could create some resistence. That made the difference between Greyback, for example, and Moony. Greyback embraced the monster within, adding his own interest in killing and creating a foul killing machine, ruthless and completely insane, liking both the pain and the death it could provide. Moony, on the other hand, was calmer. Still deadly, of course, but somehow careful. It would kill, but the 'man inside' would guarantee that it was something as painless as possible. This flicker of control also made a lot of difference when there weren't humans around, like these moments in which the Marauders were running free.

When it was only the Marauders, the wolf would recognize that stag, that dog and that rat as pack. So the wolf never attacked them deliberately. It would also wait for them, and even play with them a bit. That meant Remus' will made the werewolf almost a normal, but especially vicious, wolf.

But this night, Remus was not there. That was a free werewolf. One that didn't have 'packs' or 'care'. All the suffering and pain and starvation that Remus had been put through for all those days weakened him so much he couldn't control it, he couldn't make it try to be calmer. Actually, he wasn't even there, it seemed like he had just passed out.

And Prongs and Padfoot could feel the difference. They had to stay as far as they could, because every time they got too close, the werewolf would snarl and their instincts would make them back away. They knew Remus was not there. In fact, it had already happened once, when Remus' parents died when they were in their seventh year. Then, Moony had attacked them both and itself, because Remus had been too mentally absent to oppose enough. But this time, the werewolf had total control, as Remus was absent not only mentally, but also physically.

Suddenly, the werewolf stopped, and the dog and the stag stopped as well, a few feet away. Prongs and Padfoot just watched as the werewolf howled and jumped to its side. It actually took them a while to recognize what it was doing, but they finally saw it: A large snake with three heads. Well, it had three heads, because the werewolf ripped the right head off, killing it instantly. The other two tried to fight and bite the werewolf, but it was way faster than the snake heads. With a bite, it killed the former middle head and it used its claws to kill the last one. The runerspoor was dead.

Prongs and Padfoot turned their head so they could see each other. Their eyes locked and they saw the same emotion in their friend's eyes: fear.

* * *

The first person to enter the house was Frank Longbottom. He had some bruises on his face and a nasty cut that had already stopped bleeding, and his glasses seemed to have been damaged during the fight, but, other than that, he looked okay. Alice threw herself at his arms and held him tightly, while Lily and Molly waited for the others.

Soon enough, Savage, Proudfoot and Emmeline entered the house, being followed shortly by Moody and Arthur. They were all very serious and barely nodded a greeting. Upon seeing her husband, Molly made a loud noise with the back of her throat that sounded strangely like a choke, but at the same time, a laugh. Her smile was wide as she jumped on his arms, which almost made him fall.

Finally, Dumbledore entered the hall. The aurors and Emmeline had already moved to the living room probably to floo to their own houses, so there were only the two couples, lost in themselves, Lily and Dumbledore there. Dumbledore held Lily's gaze and closed the door, locking it.

"Wait, James is still outside." She said calmly.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I think James, Sirius and Remus are only going to arrive here in the morning." Albus' face was expressionless, his eyes lacking the usual twinkles they normally had.

The couples separated themselves and watched the scene unfolding before them. "What do you mean, Albus?" Frank asked, fearing the worse. The old headmaster glanced in the Weasley's direction before speaking.

"They are helping their friend tonight, Frank." Dumbledore said.

"Helping? Helping how?" Molly said, her wide smile disappearing.

"Remus is a werewolf, Molly. Shortly after James and Sirius rescued them, he turned." Arthur answered. Then, he turned poisonously to Dumbledore. "I can't believe you didn't tell us that, Albus! How could you! I can't imagine even the danger! Now we lost both James and Sirius!" Molly quickly formed tears in her eyes as she spoke again.

"W-what? B-but..." she cried. "W-why didn't they come?"

"You don't have to worry about this. It's not something people are informed of, but James and Sirius are animagus. I saw them transforming myself, so they are safe." Albus said.

"You knew that?" Frank asked. The headmaster nooded.

"I noticed somebody had been studying how to turn into animagus. It didn't take long for me to discover who those were. Very few things happen at Hogwarts that I am not aware of."

"So that was part of a sick plan, Dumbledore?" Alice asked, her eyes sparkling dangerously with anger. Alice was a soft, kind girl, who seemed like she could break down fairly easily, but, in reality, she was a force to be feared, and that made her such a good auror. "You knew it was a full moon tonight, and you still carried on with this... STUPID IDEA?" she said, shouting the last two words.

"It was our best chance, Alice." Albus replied. "As soon as he transformed, the Death Eaters recognized it was a lost battle and left." Silence took over the room as the words sunk in.

"Were there... were there any casualties, Albus?" Arthur asked. A pained look crossed the headmaster's face.

"Sadly, yes. One of the aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and, I'm sorry to say, Hestia Jones." Alice and Molly cried while the men looked sick and pained.

Lily, on the other hand, didn't even acknowledged the information. In fact, during the whole conversation she kept on staring at the door, as if waiting for something to happen. Alice still had the tears falling from her eyes when she noticed this.

"L-Lily?" She said, her voice hoarse from the crying. The redhead moved her head slowly so that their eyes met. Lily's eyes were completely dull, her green eyes lacking any kind of emotion.

She finally moved. With small steps, she made it to stand in front of her former headmaster. Their eyes met before she opened her mouth and spoke.

"If something happens to them... If my baby loses his father or any of his two godfathers because of you... I'm going to hunt you down. And I'm going to kill you myself."

And then, she left to the living room, where she sat on the couch and started the long wait for her husband. In the hall, everybody was shocked. The women were covering their mouths with their hands, and the men didn't seem very calmer either.

Dumbledore was dumbfounded. He knew he would find... resistence to his plan, but... The way Lily Potter said what she said, the pure loathing and resolution in her voice... He wasn't ready for that. He thought that, as the raid was probably going to work, they wouldn't be so angry, but it seemed things wouldn't be so easy on him.

* * *

The night dragged itself. Lily couldn't stop worrying about her husband, and Dumbledore was waiting to see how his relationship with his former pupils, now friends, would be after all this. Alice, Frank, Molly and Arthur offered to stay with them, but were dismissed by a shake of Lily's head. They stayed there under the pretext that they wanted to give support, but actually, they were worried about Lily's reaction to Dumbledore. Of course they knew the headmaster could defend himself and Lily probably wouldn't attack their old mentor, but they didn't want to have the Order broken in such an irreparable way. After a few hours, though, tireness made them give up and go to bed, so, by the time the first sun rays appeared, it was only Lily and Dumbledore there.

Lily didn't even look at the armchair the headmaster sat. She actually pretended the armchair didn't even exist, and that she was alone there. It helped her if she just forgot the anger she felt. The old man, on the other hand, didn't make any noise, focused in his own thoughts, and had the conscience of not talking to the redhair.

Not so long after the morning was there, they heard the arrival of other people. Lily, as now part of the Potter family, was linked to the wards, so she knew there were three people there. She stood up and went to the entrance hall to wait for the rest of their family.

Soon enough, the door was opened and Sirius and James entered the manor with a floating Remus behind them. The two animagus seemed exausted, and both of them had big dark circles around their eyes, but their faces lit as soon as they saw Lily standing there.

"Lily-flower!" James said before his wife moved forward and kissed him harshly, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Get a room..." Sirius said, but he had a smile on his face. Things seemed to be getting better, finally. After a few minutes, the couple broke their kiss and panted a bit. Lily moved and held Sirius in a tight hug. "Good to see you too, Lily."

The three were smiling, but the fact that Lily hadn't said anything wasn't ignored. Her smile didn't reach her eyes and she seemed rather angry. "Did you know?" She finally asked, losing her smile.

"What, Lily-love?" James asked, cautiously. His wife turned at him, her face serious, but not exactly angry.

"That it was a full moon last night."

Both men lowered their heads to the floor, which ended up being misinterpreted by Lily, who started to swell in anger. Before she could start shouting, though, James replied.

"No, we didn't." his wife looked from him to Sirius, and she calmed down when she saw sincerity in their eyes. "But we should have! God, we were so stupid! How could we overlook the date, principally if we were saving Remus!"

"I don't think it's our fault, Prongs. I spent the whole day preparing ourselves to the combat, so we actually didn't have time to think about the plans in deed." Sirius said.

"Still, Padfoot... We have been concerned about the full moon for 10 bloody years!" James passed his hand through his hair furiously. It actually seemed like he wanted to pull his own hair in anger.

"Was it... was it that bad?" Lily asked in a whisper.

"Our friend was not inside that... monster. I guess this was the first time we really ran with a werewolf. And I am not that anxious to do it again, I guess." Sirius answered.

"Are you hurt?" Lily asked softly.

"Some mild scratches, but nothing that would heal better naturally." James said. But then he added angrily: "But Remus here in a bad shape. Not only has he been tortured for 10 days straight, but also he had to suffer the transformation."

A '_hem hem_' on the passageway to the living room made them turn to look at Dumbledore, standing right before the entrance of the hall.

"Good morning, Headmaster." Sirius and James said in unisson. They looked at each other and smiled because of the coincidence. Lily, on the other hand, twisted her face in fury.

"Good morning, gentlemen." The old man said, with a tiny smile on his lips. "I will take Remus to Hogwarts with me. I'm sure Pomona will get him back to full health shortly."

"Thank you." Both men said, nodding and still smiling. Lily continued with he frown of hatred.

"It's terrific to see you are okay, boys..." At this point, lily could hold it any longer.

"NOT BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU OLD FOOL!" Lily shouted, startling James and Sirius. Albus, however, just dropped his smile.

"Lily!" James exclaimed. He had never heard his wife shout at any of her teachers, much less the headmaster. But calling him names?

"No, James! He planned this! He knew it was a full moon... In fact, he wanted it to be tonight!" Lily said, still staring at the old man with anger. The younger men moved their eyes to look at the headmaster, who sighed. Neither boys knew what to do, they were all tired.

"Is that... real, Albus?" Sirius asked. The headmaster simply nodded. James and Sirius looked at each other, and then both of them back to Lily. The hall was in deep silence. Dumbledore looked calm, but his eyes were dull. Lily, on the other hand, was panting in anger, her face red, while James and Sirius were strangely expressionless.

"I guess... You should take Remus to Hogwarts, Dumbledore." James finally said. Lily turned her head to look at her husband, her face a frown. She couldn't believe he wasn't going to say anything!

Albus Dumbledore pointed his wand to Remus and gently moved him closer. He turned around and entered the living room once again, being followed by the three young people. As soon as he got close to the fireplace, though, he stopped and turned around.

"I apologize for not telling you about the full moon, boys." He said, and then sighed. "I really wanted to get Mr. Lupin to safety. I did my best, I hope it was enough, even with the casualties... James and Sirius, I hope you can forgive me." He then entered the fireplace and traveled back to Hogwarts, not even waiting to see the boys' answers.

Lily was staring at her husband in disbelief. She still had her face pinkish in anger.

"I can't believe you let him go like this!" She said.

"What did you want me to do, Lily?" James answered, exasperated. Upon seeing Lily inflating in anger, Sirius intervened.

"I'm going upstairs. I'm tired as _fuck,_ so I've gotta sleep!" He said. He sent a smile to Lily, hugged James and went to bed.

"You cannot let _him_ manipulate our lives like this, James!" Lily said, the moment Sirius was gone. She had her hands on her hips ad her face was still twisted in a frown. "He could have killed you both with his insane plan!". James sighed.

"I understand, Lily-love, but what can I do now? At least we rescued Remus..." James said, but then he remembered something his former headmaster had said. "Did anybody... you know?" Lily stiffened.

"Y-yes. Auror Shacklebolt and Hestia..." She said, slowly.

James inhaled soundly and closed his eyes, sitting down on the sofa. He then covered his face with his hands. Lily felt bad for seeing her husband like this, but she had already prepared herself. James could never take death well, so she knew the loss of two friends were heartbreaking for him. After a few minutes, he lowered his hands and looked at his wife, who had sat next to him and was rubbing circles on his back. He had tears in his eyes, but he apparently didn't want to let them go.

"That's why I'm not going to argue with Albus now, Lily... This stupid war is slowly killing us. He may have screwed up big time for not telling us about his plans, but we should have paid attention to it as well, and we didn't. It's just... It hurts, Lily, seeing all these people dying. And imagining my friend in that condition..." He sighed when he couldn't hold one adventurous tear that rolled from his eye. "I'm tired, Lily. Hell, three years ago we were teenagers, literally teenagers who had just discovered they were expecting a child. And then all this bloody crap started to happen, all at once, and... I feel I am far too young for this, most of the time. I don't know what to do, and the fear of losing you, or Harry, or Sirius or Remus paralizes me. I can't help felling that, if we hadn't made some of the choices we made, we might have been killed as well..." he stared deep into those green eyes, now flooding with tears. "I lost my parents and one of my best friends already, Lily, but if I lose one of you four, I'll go crazy. That's why I believe in Dumbledore. That's why I let him control us. I'll do anything, anything to keep you safe."

Lily just stared back at her husband now with her tears rolling freely. She eventually swallowed her cry and smiled weakly. She was still furious at Dumbledore, of course, but at least now she had a reason to just keep this anger away.

"When did you become this adult?"

James smiled bitterly. "I hope you're not disappointed..." He said, joking humourlessly.

"A bit, my husband has never been serious." She said, but still smiling. "But again, the moment I discovered I was in love with you was the moment you showed me the adult you were." James simply nodded and pulled his wife. He gave her a soft kiss before letting her go and standing up.

"Let's go, Mrs. Potter." He said, giving her a hand so she could stand up. "Let's go to bed. I am, indeed, very tired, and tomorrow we have a friend who needs us"

Lily took his hand, but after standing up, she held him in a tight hug.

"I love you." She whispered in his ear.

"I love you too, Lily-love." He replied.

And then, the couple went to bed, after that long day, of a long week, of a long life.

* * *

**A.N.:** There you guys have, another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I hope you like this one better. I don't know when I'll update again, but I hope it is soon. This was the last chapter of this phase of the story, the next one will be a kind of a storyline so we get to the next phase. R&R, please, your feedback will give me inspiration to continue. Thank you for every one who reviewed, favorited and followed the story.


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